


CROSS

by BlueRam



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Crossover, Deviates From Canon, Homosexual relationship, M/M, No character bashing, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2018-10-30 03:37:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 131,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10868259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueRam/pseuds/BlueRam
Summary: Hary never thought something like this would happen to him. The deceit, the confusion, the self-entitlement and selfishness. The very fact that no matter what his fate was the same in the end. A prophecy. It was always the same, even in a world away. Now, somehow finding himself in the elemental nations he finds himself wrapped up in the life of Sasuke Uchiha, the lackey the Sanin known as Orochimaru had sent to capture him. Harry wonders just how he'll get out of this mess, and if he'll ever return to Britain. After all, Voldemort was still alive and kicking, and Hermione...Ron, they were still missing. He didn't have time to be caught in anyone's web. Then again, did he even have a choice?





	1. And So They Met

His heart raced as he ran carelessly through the thick forest. Limbs of trees and terribly thick foliage tearing into his skin, tearing at the thin kimono, the only clothing on his back as he desperately tried to escape his pursuer.

“Damn it!” Harry hissed, partly fear, partly anger as he slipped, his momentum significantly slowed for his mistake. He should have kept focused! Not panic like some first-year Hufflepuff on their first trip to Hogwarts. That, he knew wasn’t fear, Hufflepuffs were one of the few genuinely brave people he had known. They weren’t brave for glory, or even prestige. They were brave because for them loyalty was everything and helping others above themselves was the only instinct that truly mattered.

“Just leave me alone!” Harry screamed in fury, heart beating wildly. A thunderous echo that was far more painful than it ought to in the confines of his chest. His skin was slick with sweat, and the heat was unimaginable, his round glasses fogging over as he swiftly took another turn, loose dirt falling away for such a sudden movement. Damn, he sounded pitiful, even with his wand held tightly in his hand the wood, feeling much too odd in his hand like it didn’t belong.

It didn’t.

The wand belonged to Draco Malfoy. He snatched it from him in the struggle, surrounded by Death Eater’s, Voldemort a menacing image at their backs.  He remembered it as clear as day, or maybe midnight would have been a better word. There had been the terrible chime of a clock, loud and echoing in the ministry of magic. The ceiling of glass painting a beautiful picture as moonlight peered through to touch his pale skin. Hermione had been kidnapped. Both she and Ron, and they the Order, ran like fools without a plan to rescue her.

It was, of course, a trap, just like that year in the Department of Mysteries.Just like that year, he had seen his godfather plummet to his death, for what else could possibly lay behind the Veil. Why hadn’t they learnt, why hadn’t _he_ learnt. For their foolishness, they ran right into an attack. Before they knew magic reigned, wild and furious as they attacked. The burn of fire and something like lightning stifling for every spell that was let loose and never much caught its target. 

He had taken down Death Eater after Death Eater, for once trying to get away from Voldemort instead of facing him head-on. It hadn’t been the time, he was much too unprepared to truly duel the man. He hadn’t been a fool then and he wasn’t a fool now. He knew trouble when he saw it, knew when he would be outmatched!

Ahead, Harry could hear the roar of a river, maybe a falls even. It was suicidal but it could be his chance. He didn’t think as he changed his path once more. The man that was pursuing him without pause, almost taunting as his concealed power licked at his own magic, tried to pull him, would he really go further if he flung himself over a falls. It sounded stupid, but the pause would be enough for him to apparate. Apparate to where he didn’t know. Once he could jump and vanish, the man would think him dead and stop his pursuit, none the wiser about his magic.

After all, this wasn’t wizarding Britain or even muggle Britain anymore. This was a place wholly undiscovered. How he got here was the next question, well it all had to do with that same night. Despite his attempts to escape from Voldemort, regroup and actually _plan_ for once in their life he had been captured. He might have been skilled, but one wizard against a horde of psychotic fanatics who didn’t care a lick if they lived, once they killed you, was too much.

His wand had been broken. He felt like something had ripped at the delicate tissues of his heart, a pain much too terrible that for a moment he had doubled over in pain gasping desperately for breath.

 It was all they needed. Before he knew it, Voldemort had him under the curciatus curse. It honestly wasn’t needed if he was being honest, the severing of his bond with his wand for that split second was crippling enough, at least the shock of it. He had a pretty good inkling that Voldemort, the no nose limp dick bastard knew it, and just put him under the damnable cruciatus curse for kicks.

Bloody, snake-faced bastard!

 He didn’t have the time to think much of it then, but he was hauled to his feet, Voldemort and his maniacal laughter in the background. To be honest, through the pain, it was like he was underwater. He could hear order members screaming desperately, the hiss of spells over his head, feel the tight piercing grip of whoever was hauling him to his feet.

He glanced up briefly through blurred vision. He saw blonde hair.

Malfoy.

“The Veil,” he had heard, a whispery breath. Voldemort much too amused, much too smug for that to be anything good. It accorded to him then, they were going to throw him through the bloody Veil. Bloody hell, he was really going to die this time! He had fought with almost all he had, almost. He had to admit that for a second the idea of death was a pleasant one. A beautiful dream where he would see his parents again. His mother’s red hair that he had only ever heard about, his father’s smirk that often times could be considered cruel depending on whose perspective it was. He wasn’t so sure he could trust Snape’s memories, or maybe he didn’t want to believe the image that had been painted and shattered his world that one night.

Bully came to the forefront of his mind, just boys being boys another voice would whisper almost convincingly.

Through the struggle he had grabbed at Malfoy’s wand, Draco, he realised and blasted off the first spell that had come to mind. Avada kedavra, his green eyes widened in shock at the words that left his lips, no the words hadn’t escaped his lips. A non-verbal cast of the spell, Malfoy senior, the victim of the spell crumpling to a lifeless heap, Draco Malfoy screaming in pain and denial.

The man out of anger had flung him through the Veil without mercy then, blue eyes that sometimes looked grey in the right light wide unquenchable rage. Voldemort with his wicked grin, red eyes alight with lust for such violence. a looming presence behind him.

 _“The boy who lived, only to die”_ Voldemort mocked, the only image and sound he would process before he plummeted into never-ending darkness, the cold kiss of what should be death at his lips.

“No matter how far you run, I will still catch you.” The voice slammed into him, tearing at his memories like a train that had derailed and was sent spiralling into a building. Explosions, casualties and all! He almost tripped again, heart hammering, threating to just bloody well burst out of his chest and leave him for dead as the ghost of fingertips touched his neck. He didn’t even think as the falls came into sight, he flung himself over willing one of his plans to actually work for a change!

He shut his eyes, willing away the initial fear. If this didn’t work he would have leapt to his own death quite foolishly! He waited for the feel of wind cutting into his skin, for his ears to become clogged and his mind blank as he fell. It didn’t come! Instead, a strong hand grabbed him, fingers digging painfully into his skin as he was left suspended, no dangling over the cliff. He didn’t want to open his eyes and see the truth!

No! It should have worked damn it! It should have—

Harry opened his eyes, fierce glare set in place as he was met with the emotionless visage of his relentless pursuer. His dark eyes spelt nothing and almost seemed bored with his regard.

“Going somewhere?” The man muttered, not even hesitating as he hauled Harry from over the cliff and none too gently released him at his feet.

“Why yes, yes I was! It’s not every bloody day that I find myself in ownership of an express ticket to kill myself over the cliff!” Harry hissed, even as the man hauled him to his feet, without a care wrapping painful binding wires around his wrist. He fought, of course, almost got away once, only for every attempt to prove futile.

“What the hell do you want from me?!” Harry shouted, resisting as the man pulled along, rope secured around the binding wire. He didn’t get an answer, didn’t expect one either. If there was one thing he figured out, it was this man that had hunted him, was a man of very few words.

Few words, or was it that he had failed at the language after all?

When he had been flung through the veil, he had expected death. He didn’t know what it would feel like, what to expect, but death he thought was a sure thing. He had been terribly ignorant to believe anything could have been so easy for him!

One moment he had been falling to his death, the next he had awoken in terrible pain, not a stitch of clothing on his body and Draco Malfoy’s wand grasped tightly in his hand. There was this young girl that had been at his bedside, startled by his abrupt entrance to the world of consciousness. He had shouted at her, asked her where the hell he was, and where was Voldemort. The woman hadn’t understood a thing, and when she opened her mouth, he realised that Potter luck might have just struck again.

He had cursed Voldemort, and that pointy faced prat Malfoy for landing him in the strange situation, once he realised that, bloody hell! He was in some alternate dimension! Or something. Then it hit him, he had killed someone, he had used the very same curse that had taken his mother’s life to take another’s, even if they were trying to kill him first.

It proved too much, he broke down, and that poor woman, with her strange language, was the only comfort he had.

He learned that he was in some place called Kusagakure, some country in the Elemental lands. It was a mixture of modern and outdated, almost like the Wizarding world, but better maybe. He learned of the Asian like culture, or maybe it was Asian and the art of the Shinobi and the life of a civilian.

He wanted nothing to do with it!

That’s what he had said till he realised the state of the village he lived. The people were poor, they were suffering. Their crops did not grow and they had nothing to trade. Their people died from illness, and as much as their local medicine women and men tried, they themselves could not carry the burden. Then there were the rogue ninja and bandits, and the threat of the military force called the Sound.

Harry’s golden heart bled.

He couldn’t do much, but he knew something of how useful runes were. Harry had beat it into his skull not to dismiss things because they were difficult. He wasn’t awfully good, passable maybe. Passable was all these people would need.

His magic, thankfully still worked, even if something felt strange about it. He chalked it up to the broken connection with his wand. A wand he was slowly working on repairing.

He used runes to help the village crops grow, help set up shields that at made those with ill intent ignore the village within reason. If the person was close enough they would of course still see the village. It was as he said, he wasn’t all that good with runes. The villagers had been thankful, clothed him and housed him, slowly but surely taught him their language.

For months he could barely string two words together, but after some time it got better. He still couldn’t write the language, but that was ok, he hadn’t planned on staying, he wanted to get back home. Find Ron and Hermione, kill Voldemort.

Every action had a reaction though.

His runes had gained the interest of some man called the Snake Sanin. Before he knew it he had to abandon the village. His presence would only bring them danger. With tearful goodbyes he was left to run, the man’s dark-haired lackey hot on his heels.

At that Harry jerked himself out of his muse, watching that broad back that pulled him to only Merlin knew where.

“Your name is, Sasuke Uchiha, isn’t it?” Harry glared, he was just striking up a conversation. He wanted to see what he could get out of the man, maybe he could escape again. Run further this time, disguise himself because now this man knew what he looked like.

Sasuke didn’t even acknowledge him, pulling harder at the ropes as Harry lagged behind.

“They say you killed an entire village just because you felt like it.” Harry continued. It was Gryffindor move, stupidly antagonising his capture, but when had Harry Potter ever known to quit. Maybe if he got this Sasuke angry enough, he would lose focus, give him the opening to use his magic, take the man off guard and apparate blind.  The man would know about his magic, and he would be put in more danger, but he was sure he could manage.

Sasuke, of course, didn’t rise to the bait, he simply glanced over his shoulders with those cold eyes before continuing on his way, and rope purposely pulled tighter.

“You talk too much.” Was Harry’s only answer and it made him terribly angry, but for once he kept his mouth shut. For a moment he stopped walking, green eyes turned to the sky that had clouded over, thunder rumbling in the distance. A crow took flight, squawks loud only to be consumed by the roaring wind. Harry felt cold, the thin kimono he wore no true help against the elements of nature.

For a moment as he continued walking, realising that he had lost Draco’s wand and that his still unprepared one was sealed away in a rune at his ankle. He wondered how the hell he was going to get out of this one.

And when dark eyes pinned him in place again, so cold and emotionless, he resolved himself to escape as soon as he could, lest he be caught in this lackey's web.


	2. See No Evil

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. Text of the prophecy line" _and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives_ " taken from the Harry Potter books and is no intellectual property of mine.**

* * *

 

Sobs echoed through the small room as a lone candlelight flickered. A heavy atmosphere as a gentle wind whistled, tentatively pushing passed stained glass and thin curtains to peek inside. The sounds of passing cars on slick roads and silly children—teens—out much too late did nothing to lighten the heavy air.

“Are you sure?” Petunia whispered, her hands holding the soft cotton of her peach dress tight. Right over her heart that ached continuously, a throb that would only get worse as solemn faces looked back at her. The men fidgeted, eyes downcast before they looked away. Mouths set in grim lines as they held their strange wizarding hats to their chests.

“The veil, I’m afraid spells death to all that touch it. H—” Dumbledore began, once twinkling blue eyes dulled and troubled, his usually strong voice hesitant for once in his life. Molly, bless her soul fell apart at the hesitance, eyes bloodshot as she covered her mouth, frame trembling as much as she wished to be strong.

Petunia said not a word, she fought to read the truth in Dumbledore’s eyes but he would not allow it. He would not look at her. Weighed by guilt and shame? She did not know.

“Harry was thrown into the veil. We were too late to save him, couldn’t hope to save him.” Dumbledore whispered, eyes searching the night sky from the window he leant against. It would give none but the twinkle of stars and sparse grey clouds, the night something that should have been beautiful where the muggle invention of electricity had failed for a time.

“And with him, the hope of us winning this war is—”Mad-eye began gruffly, mouth set in a grimace as he glared at his worn boots. He didn’t get far with his train of thought as Petunia flew up from her chair, the legs scraping harshly against the hardwood.

“Your war?! Your war! You speak of war when innocent children have gone missing! When this woman weeps with not so much as comfort from you _strong_ men!” Petunia cursed. Molly sobbed harder in answer, batting away at the hand that tried to console her as she all but fled the living quarters. Her eldest son looked on in guilt, sparing the room a hesitant glance before he took off after her.

“Petu—” Remus began softly, pained as he moved to step forward. He did not get far, not with the glare the woman levelled at him. Her lips quivered, her throat tight as she opened her mouth to say something, anything! Instead, she crumbled under the weight of her grief, flashes of mischievous green eyes looking at her, that small crooked grin that was in no part James Potter but her precious Lily.

She gasped as if she was out of air. Her hands held tight to her mouth as she tried to stave off that sob that wished to come forth.

“My nephew, my Harry is dead and you would dare have me worry about your war?!” Petunia glared at Mad-eye through teary eyes, before they landed on Dumbledore. The man would flinch away if he were anyone lesser. As it was, it did not stop the bitter taste of guilt that filled his mouth or the sinking of his steady heart for all that was to come in the near future.

“A war you could have stopped before it ever began!” Petunia angrily whispered. Dumbledore said nothing, she did not expect him to. Without a word, she turned away from the remaining members of the Order that surrounded her. In the distance, a dog barked insistently, loud enough to rouse the many that lived within the little community. Silently Petunia left them, seeking escape for just a minute.

Her Harry, her precious Harry, the only family she had. He was—she could not even utter the words for the walls to hear.

The Order remained silent for a time yet, all cast in the eerie glow of candlelight. With a heavy sigh, Dumbledore sat to ease the pain from his weary bones, blue eyes glancing in the darkened corner where Severus Snape stood. The man hadn’t said a word from their arrival to 4 Private Drive. They had moved the Order’s location to a Muggle dwelling. The thought was that Voldemort would never figure them to hide there. An obvious spot, which lacked security—or should lack security. Lily Potter was a clever woman, because of her love for her child, her love for her sister, of which she had a close bond, she had lain blood wards at Petunias’ home.

A safety precaution that she had hoped would never have to be used. Unfortunately, her worries proved true, she was killed and her son sent to live with Petunia, his only blood family. The wards were equal parts powerful and dangerous for anyone who would dare wish the inhabitants of the home harm.

“What news have you, Severus?” The order shifted uncomfortably. Some aimed glares of accusation at the man, never being able to trust him for he walked the fine line between both sides. Remus himself would say he did not trust the man, would never trust the man. Inside his wolf growled, ready to strike out. He swallowed tightly before getting a grip of himself. This was not the place or time for such worries. Not when Harry—not when Harry…

“Voldemort, he has... become quite erratic. He celebrates Potter’s death as much as he punishes Draco Malfoy for stealing his victory from him. Never mind he was the one who had ordered him to do his bidding.” Snape drawled. For those who knew what to look for, it was obvious the worry in Severus Snape’s eyes. The worry for his godchild that many would be a fool not to realise he loved. Remus grew bitter at the display. It was Draco Malfoy that saw to it Harry's descent through the veil. It was Draco Malfoy, that stole the man that was like a son from him so cruelly! It was Draco Malfoy—

A growl ripped through the almost silent room, almost animalistic, yet not quite.

“Remus,” Kingsley began cautiously. There was a great worry in his dark eyes for the slight traces of amber that bled into brown. The full moon was close he recalled, Remus had not begun to truly grieve—none of them had—for the loss of Harry, a talented young man. A man that had been forced to the forefront of war before he had even been born.

Remus said nothing, his fist clenched tight. Severus dark eyes bore into his own. For a moment he thought to rip the man’s eyes out, watch him bleed for daring to think of Draco Malfoy when Harry was dead! He suppressed it. Not only was that unfair-he knew it was unfair!—but it was also the whim of the monster that slept within him. The Dark creature that so many feared, the only image that people saw when they looked at him after learning his condition.

“What of the war, boy?!” Mad-eye glared impatiently, hands twitching at his sides as if to grab his wand. His eye swivelled erratically, searching for enemies on all sides and finding none. Old war habits were hard to die, Mad-eye and his disposition were sure true proof of this.

Severus raised a dark brow at the display, in no way moved. His actions earned him no favours from the order, heated glares and twitching wands his answer. Dumbledore sighed, raising a hand in a sign of peace as the air became thick with tension. They wasted time playing these petty games.

“Peace! We have no time for childish squabbles! Have we not lost enough for foolish actions?!” Dumbledore spoke firmly. It was like a hot knife cutting through butter. A reminder that more was at stake for every second that was wasted. A reminder that the saviour, Harry Potter was dead, and perhaps with him their salvation.

Silence filled the room, Hestia Jones jumping in slight fright as a car honked loudly as it passed, headlights illuminating the almost dark room for a second before leaving as quickly as it came.

“He’s as secretive as ever. He has taken to securing himself away in his quarters, asking for nothing. His Death Eaters have been dismissed, all but Draco Malfoy and Bellatrix.” Snape muttered.

“I hear the boy is the next heir,” Tonks spoke up for the first time. She gained the curious stares from her fellow Order members, Mad-eye to be more specific.

“Don’t be daft, girl! Draco Malfoy, You-Know-Who’s heir! That monster needs nor wants an heir!” Mad-eye gruffly dismissed.

“And I’m sure you’re an expert on what the Dark Lord does and wouldn’t do.” Snape drawled. Mockery for everyone to hear.

“Peace, I said! This madness must stop!” Dumbledore shouted, rising from his seat. Blue eyes glared fiercely at both men. Mad-eye had hissed his teeth, glaring off to the side. Snape simply stared at Dumbledore, not another word from his lips.

“You-Know-Who chases immortality! What need would he have for an heir?” Mad-eye had to get the last word in, unaffected by Dumbledore’s silent reprimand.

“It is moments like this I realise we as a group are greatly unprepared for the might that is Voldemort. We squabble like children among ourselves when a greater threat lies in wait just over the horizon. What fools!” Dumbledore whispered as he silently walked to the open windows.

“What of Hermione and Ron?” Remus asked softly, his earlier anger bleeding away to deep weariness. Kingsley placed a heavy hand on the man’s shoulders, features pulled with worry and regret.

“We have searched far and wide. There are no signs or clues to their whereabouts.”

Silence consumed the group once more a heavy weight on all their shoulders.

“What if, what if he’s still alive? We can’t just eliminate all the possibilities—” Remus began desperately but stopped himself.

“Remus,” Tonks began softly, her voice shaking for a moment.

“The Black Tapestry, we haven’t checked! He could be alive, he could still—” Remus was desperately grabbing at straws. The grief was finally setting in. He wished to fall to the ground and weep, scream his throat raw, plead to whatever gods there were.

Harry was dead! Harry was dead!

“ _And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives!_ He must still—Harry can’t be dead!” Remus shouted, shrugging away from Tonks embrace. He was looked at with pity from all sides, even Severus for how cold the man was in countenance.

Remus wanted no one’s pity.

“Perhaps, the prophecy is not what I had once thought,” Dumbledore admitted, the guilt that had weighed him down as the war had finally come to their doorsteps. How many nights he had wondered about the truth that laid in those prophesized words. Had he been a fool? Had he wasted Harry’s precious life for something that would have never brought the wizarding world salvation?

Remus cursed as he looked away. He didn’t want to accept that, but what else was there? Nothing was known of the Veil. In truth, what right did he have to proclaim what little was known to be false?

Without a word, he left the living quarters. At his departure the light was suddenly back, blinding momentarily those who had remained.

“Dumbledore?” Snape said. We must talk remained unvoiced. There were things he wished to discuss without the presence of the Order. Dumbledore said nothing, but Snape knew he was understood, without fanfare, the Order was dismissed.

“Severus?”

“It regards Draco Malfoy. I’m afraid there is something that I had left unsaid in light of company.” Severus began dark eyes as serious as they would ever be.

* * *

 “Get up, we must go now!” Harry groaned, emerald eyes blinking in confusion as he was none to gentle shrugged awake. He winced at the pain in his wrist, they hadn’t been released when they had sought shelter inside a hollowed tree bark when the rain began to pour. Harry struggled to make sense of what was happening, cursing himself for ever falling asleep in the presence of his capture!

How had he ever survived so long in a war, if he could so easily let his guard down?! The damn lackey must think him a weak fool!

“What’s happening?” Harry winced at his scratchy voice, glaring when his ropes were pulled and he was left stumbling to his feet. Sasuke did not even have the decency to answer him, dark eyes trained on something in the distance that Harry himself could not see.

The man looked tense he realised, but maybe not out of fear. He resembled more a predator who had decided that a fight was the last thing he needed whilst burdened.

Burdened by him, Harry thought, a bitter taste in his mouth. He snapped out of said train of thought. Stupid they were. He was a captive, bound against his will and here he was worrying about whether he was a burden to some lackey!

His heart raced as he thought of what might be out there hiding in the dark. Was it another enemy? Sasuke’s enemy to be exact? What little he knew of this ninja was that he was a criminal, wanted by some huge village. Was it ninjas from that village that now had Sasuke on edge, a terrible focus of equally terrible intent?

It occurred to him then, wouldn’t this be his chance to freedom? Unbeknownst to Sasuke, Harry had been working on the binds around his wrist with little bursts of magic. It was all but unnoticeable, a trick Ron had taught him should he ever be captured this way.

“Come,” Sasuke muttered, wrapping the ropes around his knuckles, shortening the length so that Harry was but a step away from him. Harry cursed at the action, glaring at Sasuke who ignored him, eyes still trained out at the expanse of darkness as he moved. Harry stumbled to keep up with the fast pace, all but falling over his own feet as he was dragged along.

“Wait! Bloody hell, I said wait!” Harry shouted, almost falling as his foot twisted. Of course, he was ignored, and again Harry was angered by the disregard, almost forgetting that he was a prisoner. Prisoners deserved no regard from their captures.

“Would you bloody well stop, you bastard!” Harry shouted in rage, chest heaving with anger. He gasped, neck pull taut as a sharp blade found its place, pressed into the delicate skin of his neck.

“Be quiet!” Sasuke hissed, a whisper so menacing it brought great pause. Harry’s breath hitched, blood pumping furiously through his veins in light of the first sign of anger from the man. The first true reaction he had garnered for all his fruitless attempts. Just as quickly it had come, anger bled away from dark eyes, and an emotionless visage left in its wake.

Harry swallowed angrily, resisting the tempting need to look down at the cold blade that could easily pierce his skin and cut his throat open.

“I’m not afraid of you,” Harry whispered angrily. Glare fierce as Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him. For a moment they were at a standstill, neither giving. Behind them, a twig snapped. The sound echoed in the still night, much too loud. Was it an animal? Or was it the ninja? Ninja after this man.

Dark eyes searched his own for a moment before the blade was pulled from his throat.

“Then you are a fool,” Sasuke whispered before swiftly pulling Harry against him and slipping behind a large tree. Harry didn’t have the chance to protest, ninja appearing where they had once stood, Sasuke’s hand held tight over his mouth.

He screamed and kicked furiously, all his efforts for nought, for how muffled his shouts were, for how he was restrained when an arm tightened around his body and held him against a much too strong chest.

“Damn it! I could have sworn I sensed him here!” One of the ninjas shouted in frustration. Harry could hear them shuffling around, hear them searching. He kicked again in frustration and only received an arm tightening around him in warning.

“With a civilian, that’s what the villagers said?”

“Yes, didn’t get a good description though, they were cautious around us.” The ninja responded to his partner. Harry could sense when the men turned to leave. They were looking for him too and they were going to leave! He couldn’t let it happen! He struggled with much fervour, sending desperate bursts of magic to the ropes, fighting as Sasuke tried to keep him hidden without making a sound.

“Stay put!” Sasuke hissed, willing Harry to stop his struggle.

He wouldn’t have it! With a burst of adrenaline, he elbowed Sasuke in the gut, ropes snapping with a loud crack as he ran off, hollering at the top of his voice.

“Wait! Help! Help me, damn it!” Harry shouted, running as if his life depended on it. Maybe it did.

The ninjas turned around in shock, eyes wide open, hands already grabbing at their weapons to defend themselves if needs be.

“Hel—” Harry’s shouts were cut short, blood splattering against his pale skin, too quick for him to comprehend. He could hear his heart beating as if it were in his ear. Da-dup, da-dup, blood rushing like a furious sea in its wake, footsteps, slow and steady behind him.

Almost like waking from a dream his eyes focused, and before him, he saw the truth. He had run for help, he was going to be saved but now, these ninjas lay dead at his feet. Their blood soaked his clothes, stained his skin, thick and much too warm, the smell of iron nauseating.

“I said, to stay put.” Sasuke‘s voice was cold. Not a care for the fact that he had just killed two men so easily.

“You killed them,” Harry whispered, still in shock.

“And whose fault is that?” Sasuke asked cruelly, harshly grabbing at Harry's shoulder as he led him away from the forest. They had to get off the road, Konoha the nuisance they were, still hunted him without pause.

* * *

 Harry silently washed the blood from his skin, the single bathroom in the room Sasuke had rented for a night, at some shady inn was without a window for his escape. He didn’t hear movement from the room outside, but he knew Sasuke was there.

The water fell from his skin, red pooling at his feet and swirling down the stained drain.

 _“Then you are a fool.”_ The words echoed in the silence of the bathroom, something tight in Harry’s chest as he remembered how easily the men were cut down before him. Because of him, only him. He was angry, he was saddened, he was guilty…he perhaps felt hate. Glaring, Harry quickly dried himself off, slipping on a simple Kimono Sasuke had procured from the innkeeper. The seedy old man had taken one look at his form and grinned. Knowing eyes flashing from him to Sasuke, then to the hand that tightened around his arm, daring him to escape.

The material was pale, filled with silvery accents and stitched flowers. Sweet and innocent, unlike his previous state covered in blood. The blood of Sasuke’s enemies.

Harry glared at the man that sat casually on the old sofa pushed against a discoloured wall. It was opposite from the single twin bed that was neatly spread, sheets crisp and clean. A surprise there.

Harry sat down, rubbing his severely bruised wrist. They were red and aching, it was a wonder he hadn’t been bound again. Sasuke must have thought him sufficiently cowed after killing men so easily in his presence.

“They didn’t have to die.” Harry glared at his wrist. Sasuke didn’t look up, continuing to sharpening his katana as if Harry hadn’t spoken.

“They didn’t have to! Why would you—” Harry began furiously, refusing to acknowledge that tears brimmed at his eyes. He had witnessed murder before, he had done it himself even! Why would he cry?!

Sasuke stopped his motions as he looked into furious green eyes. Much too innocent for how much he acted otherwise. Almost like Naruto and his piercing blue, naïve…yet not. Sasuke dismissed the thought as he continued to sharpen his blade.

“You are a monster!” Harry whispered furiously, hands clenched tight.

There was another pause before Sasuke continued again, his answer stirring a wave of guilt within Harry. A reminder of his own actions through life.

“Aren’t we all?”


	3. Bind my hands to let me escape

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto**

Harry woke to gasping breaths and sweat-slicked skin. His heart was racing a mile an hour and his hands clenched in the crisp white sheets of the bed. Swallowing tightly he slowly sat up, the sound of raindrops dancing on the rooftop, and soft footsteps in the room above. Other than the rain, and light footsteps above, the room was eerily quiet, a setting that brought more unease than calm as he blindly grasped for his discarded glasses. Just like that, the world was back in focus and with it the ever-present tension that stayed with him the moment he was captured.

Vivid images of those ninja’s death painted the otherwise blank canvas of his mind. Twisting his reality that even if he should look at his hands it would be deep crimson, almost black blood that would paint his pale skin. Harry took shuddering breath, slowly clenching his hands and releasing them. Silently he looked over to the side where Sasuke should have been, the man had sat in the same spot all night without so much as a word or a look. Not a look, until suddenly dark eyes would pin him in place, unreadable and much too consuming. In that moment, Harry would be the one to look away first, but not because he was afraid. No, it was because he would get so damn angry! Probably say something more to damn his cause and survival. Ever the impulsive Gryffindor, he could just hear Snape sneering at him in disgust.

Surprisingly, Sasuke wasn’t there, nor was there any sign that he had ever been. For a wild second, Harry thought to get up and run! Untangle himself from the much too white sheets and get the hell out of the damn Inn. In response to his thoughts, he was out of the bed, tripping over the sheets that had pooled to the floor. Making a bloody racket as the wood groaned under his feet, and his leg collided with the edge of the bedside drawer.

“Shit!” Harry hissed, nursing his toe as he made for the door. Just like that he stopped, hand already circled around the knob that would secure his freedom. Or would it? He could almost hear the rhythmic beat of his heart, loud in the almost silent room, raindrops previously light, now tearing at the roof. His fingers twitched around the heated knob, or maybe it was his skin that was hot. He could feel the trickle of sweat down the back of his neck, how his hair plastered against it.  

Would hightailing out that door really lead him to his freedom? A door that led to corridors upon corridors, poorly lit with old-fashioned lamps that flickered ever so slightly. A door that would lead him to only Merlin knows where, because he honestly had no clue where Sasuke had taken him. Then there was Sasuke, who was to say he didn’t lie in wait for exactly this moment! This foolish moment! He could run for help like last time, but what help would he get in this seedy little Inn?! It was obvious that Sasuke was somewhat known here, or was he? Maybe it was simply his reputation that preceded him. And if he ran and happened to meet some unsuspecting person…

“Damn it!” Harry whispered, voice shaking as he slowly stepped away from the door.

“Damn it to hell!” Harry glared, clenching his teeth.

No, he couldn’t just go prancing out of his prison, and he couldn’t ask any of these people for help. And wasn’t that a funny thing, him asking for help! He had always been self-reliant, always had a plan, even if they were unconventional and would get him into more trouble than actually help. Taking a deep breath Harry centred himself, he couldn’t afford to act like an idiot! He had to think!

First, he had to figure out where he was. He didn’t know much about the Elemental Nations as he had come to know it, but anything would help. A map then, he would need a map. Squaring his shoulders Harry approached the door again, and after a light pause opened it with a soft click that echoed down the hall.  He had to make this quick, Sasuke wasn't there for whatever reason, and he wasn’t tied up…he could make it downstairs, get a map and…

He would figure out the rest once he got a map.  

* * *

 “Ah, so the little flower is up?” The innkeeper grinned, watching as Harry descended the stairs slowly. Harry’s skin crawled when he felt the man’s eyes on his body. How he leered, licking his cracked thin lips, eyes lit up in obvious want. Harry glared at the display, all but biting his tongue as he finally made it to the counter. He needed this man to help him, being bitchy as he tended to be at times, Ron’s words, not his, wouldn’t get him anywhere anytime soon.

“I need a map.” Admittedly he could have been a bit more pleasant. Maybe smile a little, but right now the scowl that crossed his lips and the narrowed glare of his green eyes was all this innkeeper would get.

“Oh, a map? And why does a pretty little thing like you need a map?” The innkeeper leered, wiping at smudge glasses as he looked down at Harry.

“This pretty little thing will cut your balls off if you don’t mind your damn business!” Harry smiled pleasantly, leaning over the counter to get his point across. The slight hiss in his tone didn’t go unnoticed, the innkeeper paling slightly before shaking himself off. The sound had reminded the man of that damn snake bastard that had passed through his Inn at one point. Gave him the damn creeps, if he was being honest.

“A map huh, what type of map?” The innkeeper grinned, placing the smudged glass on the shelf behind him. Harry noted that none of the glasses was actually clean, it was a miracle that their room was even remotely livable!

“Of the Elemental Nations,” Harry muttered, eyes flickering to every shadow that moved. Slowly the lounge area, he assumed it was one, was filling with shady figures. Most had their faces hidden, now and again looking over at him and whispering to themselves. Harry would admit that he felt naked in his thin Kimono, he had been saying Kimono, but maybe the right word was Yukata for what he had on.

“Old or new?” The question jarred Harry from his thoughts, wide green eyes visibly showing confusion.

“W—what?” The innkeeper grin only grew wider at the obvious confusion. It was as he thought, something was awfully strange about the pretty little thing. Weird accent, features though beautiful, obviously foreign. A weird concept seeing that nothing should exist beyond the Elemental Nation. Then there was his clumsy use of their language, the way green eyes—and weren’t they beautiful—flickered over simple kanji in confusion.

Interesting.

Placing both sets of maps on the counter the innkeeper moved to hold Harry’s chin, maybe it spoke more to Harry’s momentary confusion that he didn’t pull away immediately.

“Say, pretty little thing, where’s that dark protector of yours? Or is he something else? Say if I…wanted a taste—”

An ear-splitting scream tore through the lounge! Everyone looking around in fright as it jarred them from their conversations. Eyes widened at the sight. The foreigner man had the innkeeper flipped on the counter, hand twisted at an unnatural angle, bone sticking out!

“You, _bitch_!” The innkeeper screamed again, voice hoarse and trembling. Harry said nothing. He simply tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear, before calmly picking up both maps. That…wasnot supposed to happen. It—the man got too close! It was a reflex, and damn it, he was already messing up a chance that he might never get again! But then again, did the pig deserve anything else, his skin crawled just imagining the liberties the man would have taken, breath stinking of stale alcohol and tobacco smoke.

“Thank you for your cooperation.” Harry drawled, sweeping away without another word. He had what he wanted, he had better return to his room, get away from the piercing eyes of much too curious people. Eyes that spelt nothing good for him he could tell, not if he remained ignorant of where the hell he was.

“You be careful, bitch! You don’t know what the hell you’ve gotten yourself into! That monster’s going to kill you, and I’ll make sure I’m there to piss on your grave when that happens!” The innkeeper shouted through the pain, angrily pushing away a young woman who tried to desperately help him. Harry stopped for a moment, listening to the excited flurry of conversation, the man’s words ringing in his ear. For a moment the door that opened and closed for every new person, the sound of wind and rain loud, was tempting. The man might be a vile pig, but who was to say he didn’t speak the truth? His escape was right there, no one was truly paying attention to him. He could slip out, he had the map after all. He could—

But slip out where? His gut told him that staying his hand this one moment would be best. There was no help to be had wherever this was, not until he had more information and more knowledge. It might be a stupid thought, but he didn’t believe Sasuke would simply leave him like this unless he was sure that he couldn’t escape. The image of those dark eyes staring into his own, daring him to make just one move to escape, daring him to be a nuisance, a vivid picture that he would never forget.

Not with the blood of innocent spilt against his skin. Life loss because of him, _always_  because of him.

The same dark eyes that stayed on his form even as he had turned his back to the man, pulled the sheets up to his shoulders, breath uneven. The sound of metal being sharpened, and the still night doing nothing for his fitful sleep. The awful truth that unless he fixed his wand there was nothing much he could do, not as untrained as he was in wandless magic. Not much he could do unless he pushed himself with the runes he barely knew, try to unravel their designs from memory and make use of them.

Nothing he could possibly _do_ unless he learned about the Elemental Nation. He had been a fool not to make more use of his time when he had been in that village!

Then there was the nagging thought if Sasuke had even left? Green eyes flickered to the unfamiliar faces and looming shadows. Maybe he was being watched right now, being tested even! The rope burns around his wrist itched at the thought. A cruel game being played maybe, was he to be entertainment to some mons—

 _“Aren’t we all?”_ Sasuke’s words from earlier brought him to a screeching halt, and with them that unfounded, or was it unfounded, guilt returned.

Monster, he was going to say. How easily it escaped his lips.

Damn it!

He didn’t respond to the innkeeper, instead, he simply continued back to his room—his prison, the maps secured under his arm.

Hermione would be proud, he wasn’t acting on impulse for once. Even if he had folded quickly to a mental chain that would impede his escape, at least for now.

“He’s going to kill you, you hear me!”

“You’re going to wish that you had never met him!”

* * *

 “There’s a storm coming.” Almost as if in response to the very words the heavens rumbled, terrible grey clouds that twisted and turned like a strange abstract painting no one would ever understand.

“If you’re going to get out of here undetected then you had better leave by nightfall, take the route down south. That outta get you where you want to go.”  The fisherman muttered as he chewed at the end of a rice stalk. The man tipped his hat curiously when he received no response from Sasuke. Knowing the kid then, and man now for so long he realised that he hadn’t changed much. Still that dark gloomy atmosphere and intense gaze no one wanted to be caught in. Those eyes when the ninja was ready was something of nightmares, and it had nothing to do with the famed Sharingan.

“Impossible. Not with my company, he can be unsuspectingly crafty when he’s ready. A route that way, even with the coverage it provides is tempting fate.” Sasuke muttered, annoyance shining through if only for a moment. His gaze was trained on the expanse of sea, watching as waves lazily danced to their own tune, curiously splashing over the deck to soak their shoes.

“What is this?! That little slip of a man giving the great Sasuke a run for his money!” Yamato, the old fisherman crowed, wheezing for air when his amusement got away from him.

“He’s almost my height!” That only made Yamato laugh harder. That little foreigner was in no way near Sasuke’s height as much as he wasn’t as little as he would make it out to seem.

“With a right mouth on him too! You’re right, he would give away your position before you even crossed the border!” Yamato hollered, doubling over in laughter, not the least bit affected by the glare sent his way. He could just see it now, Sasuke forcing the man down some shady route. Said man kicking and hollering all the way, making a right nuisance of himself just because he could! There was a fire in that one, and looking over at Sasuke’s less than impressed visage, maybe it was just what the man needed. A little challenge that had nothing to do with his lifestyle.

Silence consumed the two for a moment, lost in the smell of salt in the air and birds cawing in the distance. If it weren’t for the ominous rumble ahead and the pitter-patter of rain that decided to slowly resume its attack on the land, the scene would have been just perfect.

“They’re closing in, Sasuke. Konoha knows about this place, it won’t be too long till they send more of their ninja.” Yamato removed the rice stalk from his mouth, lips set in a grim line. Without a response the man faced Sasuke who still looked out at the expanse of sea, hands folded across his chest.

“Won’t be long till that orange ninja—” Yamato stopped abruptly when those dark eyes narrowed. A touchy subject like always then.

Yamato sighed before finally looking away, adjusting his straw hat when the wind was just a bit too playful.

“I understand your need for revenge, Sasuke, but would you hear an old man out? Orochimaru, whatever he has planned for you is not going to be pretty. Whatever you plan on doing you better do it quick. Do it before Konoha comes knocking on your door for your crimes.”

“I can take care of myself, old man.” There was no bite to it, Yamato knew that. Getting to know the boy then, and now man, for so long, he could read the unspoken gratitude in those words for his concern. Sasuke Uchiha had spoken much of breaking all bonds yet he had somehow begun to form them anew with the people he met on his journey.

“I’ve never doubted that. No one survives so long as Orochimaru’s lackey without being made of strong stuff.” Yamato grinned to himself, the shadow that clouded his eyes for a moment slowly fading.

“That, or you’re a bit touched in the head!” Yamato grinned, heart lighting when he noticed the small, almost unnoticeable tilt of Sasuke’s lips.

The loud uproar from the inn a few blocks away jarred the two out of their peaceful state. From their vantage point, they could see the innkeeper stumbling out, cursing at the top of his lung, arm bent at an odd angle. Looking closer it was obvious that a bone was sticking out, and blood running down the thin arm.

“That damn bitch! If it wasn’t for that sick psychopath I would be kicking him out on his ass by now!” The innkeeper raged only to pale when he realised he had gained the attention of said murderer. The man quickly backtracked, smiling uneasily, a nervous laugh escaping his lips as he stumbled away to find the village doctor. He didn’t need any more trouble!

“Two yen that it’s all baby dolls doing!” Yamato smirked.

“Babydoll?” Sasuke’s lips twitched again. Yamato could not for the life of him understand how an eyebrow could appear condescending, but it did!

“Well, I don’t know his name! I bet not even you know it!” Of course, Sasuke only raised his brow again in that—why should I care—way he always did.

“Harry.” Sasuke deadpanned, the slightest bit amused when Yamato sputtered in embarrassment.

“Well, at any rate, the Saki River is your best bet then. That’s if you can keep, _Harry_ in a boat for a few hours without him throwing you overboard.”

“He’ll stay in the boat,” Sasuke spoke with certainty, already turning to leave.  If the man knew what was good for him, he _would_ stay in that boat till they got to their next destination. He didn’t care to take a dive in the Saki River of all places. He had left Harry unattended and the man couldn’t help but get himself into trouble if the inn keeper’s broken arm was any indication.

“Right.” Yamato snorted. He could already see the chaos that would ensue, especially with the foreigner unbound as he was.

“Hey! I’ll leave the boat out for you tonight! Just make sure Ai secures it when you get to Dorob _ō_ -mura!” Yamato yelled, only receiving a raised hand in reply as Sasuke made his way back to the Inn.  Sighing he removed his hat from his head, looking up to the sky as fine raindrops fell from the heavens.

“Kid, I hope one day you’ll find what you’re looking for out there. Monster? You’re far from it, Sasuke Uchiha.”

* * *

 Harry cursed as he desperately looked over both maps strewn over the bathroom counter. Every now and again he would look up, eyes flickering to the ajar door, almost expecting Sasuke to suddenly appear.

He hadn’t thought this through! He had a map, two even, but he hadn’t foggiest on how to read the bloody script! Not to mention, he still didn’t know where _here_ was! He might have been just a tad hasty breaking that lecher’s arm, but…

“Come on! Come on!” Harry whispered under his breath, nervously licking his lips as he scored the aged paper for something recognisable.

“Damn it!” Harry shouted, slamming his hands on the hard bathroom counter. The attached mirror in response shook, Harry’s image blurring for a moment until it stilled and the maps slowly slid to the floor, a soft fluttering sound in its wake.

“Someone has a temper on them.” Harry felt his heart leap into his throat! The sudden voice tearing through his wall of frustration, and for a moment sent him crashing back into his unfortunate reality. He didn’t know how long Sasuke had been there! How long he had been watching him make a fool of himself! Trying to find a way to escape…again!

“You left!” It was a stupid thing to say to your captor. Harry knew this, both of them knew this. It wasn’t a surprise when Sasuke’s brow rose in that mocking way, even when he stepped forward with what looked like ropes in his hand.

Harry’s eyes narrowed on the ropes. There was no way in hell Sasuke was going to put those on him again! He didn’t realise it but for every step, Sasuke took forward he had inched back himself. The stir of magic at his fingertips, it was unstable, terribly so, but he might just be quick enough to defend himself. Surprise Sasuke and make a run for it after all. The logic for the moment could go to hell!

“And you broke a man’s arm. The _Inn keeper’s_ arm... you do realise that now we'll have to leave.” Sasuke drawled, paying keen attention to Harry’s twitchy hands. Something seemed off. He couldn’t quite place it, but it was something he felt when he had examined those symbols known as runes that Orochimaru had gazed at in wonder. The same feeling when he had begun the hunt, Harry desperately and without much luck trying to escape his reach.

Harry swallowed tightly, noting how Sasuke’s stance had changed. He wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t become so aware of his surroundings in this moment. Rain tapped on the roof, upstairs was strangely still and his pulse beat like a drum in his neck. Short breaths! Tunnel vision! He didn’t waste any time—

“Stupefy!”  Chaos! The spell erupted from Harry's outstretched hand, easily dodged by Sasuke who dived to the floor rolling out of the way! Loud ear-splitting chimes tore through the air as a blinding blue light careened off the mirror, haphazardly bouncing against the walls and shattering everything it touched. Harry didn’t even think about it, he sprinted out of the room, dodging the very same spell that had yet to fizzle out by a hair's breath, heart racing a mile per minute! Behind him he could hear the loud pop of the light bulb exploding, something tumbling to the floor.

Merlin, he hoped it was Sasuke! That would give him more time as he attempted to do the very thing he said he wouldn’t, not without a plan at least!

This was it! He was going to damn well escape! Harry’s frantic thoughts as he tripped over his feet, and stumbled out the door, the corridors clear on the first floor.

Desperately he tried to call for his magic, images flickering through his mind at a lightning-fast pace. Grasping at straws for somewhere he could apparate and finding none. Never mind that in his frantic frame of mind he could very well splice himself to escape, leaving an arm behind and slowly die an agonising death!

“Get out of my way!” Harry screamed, pushing past confused and insulted people as he thundered down the steps. Too quick to even think something wrapped around his legs! Forcing them together as he tripped and rolled down the first flight. Harry bit his lips to hold in a scream, tasting blood in his mouth when his head smashed against that last step. He could do nothing as his world spun, his glasses sent flying only Merlin knew whereas he struggled to just stand up!

“You’ll find, that this will be far easier for you if you’ll cooperate.” Chest heaving, in so much pain yet still levelling that glare, Harry looked up to see Sasuke casually sitting on the top stairs. What he had thought was a rope, seemed to be a wire that extended from his hand and wrapped so tight around his legs that it cut into his skin.

“Go to hell!” Harry shouted. Heart sinking as he watched the man slowly rise from his spot, dark eyes unreadable. The tell-tale signs of duct tape being unrolled ripped through the air, Harry’s heart leaping for a second—his skin hot as he struggled to unbind himself. The wires wouldn’t budge, just cut deeper into his legs, tightened for each struggle!

He didn’t get it! He had been fighting a war before he had ever ended up here! How the hell could he be so weak! It made no sense, and with it, Harry felt his frustration building.

“It will only take a moment, so stay still won’t you?” Sasuke drawled, almost expressionless if not for that shadow of a smirk. His footsteps seemingly echoed, much too loud to Harry’s ears even with the sound of hushed conversation below as Sasuke slowly descend the stairs, his shadow looming…imposing...consuming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, this chapter though! At least I finally got it out there, real life is such a vampire for energy and motivation :( So next chapter will be more Harry and Sasuke, I just had to get this out of the way first. So, comment, comment guys! Did you like, what did you think about that ending? What do you think will happed next? What do you imagine when it comes on to Harry and Sasuke and their relationship?


	4. Do you truly know?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto**

“Simply marvellous!” The whispery voice seemingly echoed through the still room, the flame of candlelight flickering in its amber glow, casting eerie shadows about. Kabuto shifted uneasily as he watched his master trail thin fingers along the degraded carving of symbols he had never seen in his life.

“To think, that perhaps out there lies another world, and with it the secrets of immortality.” Orochimaru smiled an unpleasant image even with the odd beauty the man held.

“Master?” He wouldn’t be graced with any answers or explanations, this he knew. It didn’t stop him from seeking them regardless. Orochimaru had always sought ways to improve himself, to remove all foreseeable weakness from his making…to defeat death. He crossed boundaries and walks of morality to see his vision come to life, not caring who he had to eliminate and who he had to destroy to see his will done.

It was beautiful! Oh, so beautiful! He wanted to consume the man, have him to himself.

Devour him!

“A pity that that world may just be beyond our reach. A pity indeed.” That smile slipped from Orochimaru's lips, a darkness that sent chills down Kabuto’s spine seeping into cold gold eyes.

“You’ve never seen anything as beyond your reach, Master. A simple obstacle, as this wont—” Kabuto’s breath hitched when a hand suddenly held his chin, the tip of a finger barely touching his dry lips. Orochimaru smirked, eyes narrowed in amusement as he watched the man tremble before him. How is pulse raced and almost inaudible pants that left thin lips. The sight of darkly twisted obsession, how riveting!

He could see the lust there, almost feel it—taste it even. His obvious yearning for him was like the embers of a raging flame that continued to burn. The control he had over this man, this _intelligent_ man was heady and almost reminded him of his hold over Jiraiya when they were once _friends_. How sweet the man had been, ever so loving. Until he saw Orochimaru for the monster he was, then…then Jiraiya had become deliciously cruel, daring to rip him from his heart. As if he had never once resided there as if he had always loved their friend Tsunade.

“Tell me, Kabuto, where is Sasuke?” Orochimaru would have almost laughed at the stirring of raw jealousy in dark eyes. The fool was much too amusing.

“We lost track of him. The last time he was seen he was in the company of a civilian man, our target I assume.” Kabuto grudgingly admitted. It was infuriating how Sasuke Uchiha could so easily evade them, evade him! He was made to seem incompetent, without use to his master! A thought that left a bitter taste in his mouth as his hands clenched tight.

“Our?” Kabuto stalled at the question, daring to look into amused gold. Orochimaru’s gaze held him in place, daring him to explain, to give an excuse that would see him punished severely.

“Ours,” Kabuto repeated. He held no fear, even when he would dare to take liberties, step closer to his master, willing himself to partake in that exposed skin. Orochimaru laughed, the sound full of mockery as his hand clamped around Kabuto’s jaw, fingers digging painfully into the lightly tanned skin. Pinpricks of blood forcing its way through the broken skin.

“Foolish child, much too young to court death.” Orochimaru leant in, his lips brushing the tips of Kabuto’s ear.

“Much too _weak_!” He hissed, laughing lightly at Kabuto’s hitched breath. Oh, the tension was sweet. Like bitter plums upon his lips, perhaps if he were anyone lesser he would have indulged. Without a word, he pulled away from the man, eyes back to those beautiful symbols.

Runes. A step closer to immortality, a step closer to learning all the worlds’ secrets. Reverently, he traced the symbols, a stir of want within as he felt that untapped power, an ancient power that had nothing to do with Chakra. A power he couldn’t access or use! He suddenly became angry, teeth clenched tight as he glared at his discovery.

_Runes._

Never mind that, in time, he would have all the access he needed. At the thought, a twisted smirk crossed his lips, the hissing of snakes that could not be seen loud, and along with it desperate whimpers of fright and pain from the cells next door.

Oh, how much fun to be had. He could not wait to unravel this exquisite secret. The wring every drop of it from the lips of this man known as Harry. He would have no choice, not with what he had. The whimpers increased, the obvious shuffle of an attempt for escape loud to both Kabuto and Orochimaru.

Poor thing, escape was futile. Especially with what they had revealed to save their own skin. How guilt must eat away at their desperate souls.

“Find him won’t you, Kabuto? Find Sasuke. Find my prize, my precious prize.” Orochimaru whispered his laughter echoing through the candlelit room, slender fingers once again caressing degraded runes.

Kabuto simply bowed, before vanishing into the shadows. He would find Sasuke Uchiha if only to please his master.

* * *

 “It’s true then! Sasuke’s coming back, he’s—!”

“Naruto!” Tsunade shouted, slamming her hands against the wooden desk in anger.

“But—”

“I said enough, Naruto!” Tsunade sighed, a frustrated breath released as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Sakura gently pulled Naruto back, shaking her head when he made to say something more. She wanted to know if it was true too, desperately! This was Sasuke! Sasuke that damn it!—she still loved even after everything!

She wanted him back. Wanted to let him know that she loved him, that he belonged with her and Naruto! Not out there, not with the enemy!

“Lady Hokage, is it true?” Kakashi finally spoke up, his book for once out of sight. He was sobering to watch all pretence of nonchalance bleed away in but a second. Again, Tsunade could feel an incoming migraine, Sasuke Uchiha was and would always be trouble. To her, he was better off dead, the reason that she had contemplated sending a team to eliminate him more than once. Until she would look into pleading blue eyes. She would not seek that route just yet, but if it came down to it, Konoha would always come first, even if it would tear Naruto apart.

“Sasuke Uchiha was last seen near the borders of the Hanto village. Two of our ninjas were killed when they tried to apprehend him.” Tsunade didn’t even think to hide what she thought of whole ordeal, her gaze unwavering as she stared at the three. Sakura had the decency to look away, ashamed, guilty but Naruto…he didn’t even flinch.  Perhaps it was a sign that he was beginning to grow, to truly understand what it meant to be a ninja, what it meant to live the life they lived.

Or perhaps, he was too blinded, too bias to see Sasuke Uchiha for what he was, for what he would undoubtedly become. Images of her once teammate flickered through her mind. Orochimaru, he had been so innocent, so wide-eyed when it came to the world until he was not. Until he betrayed them all and committed heinous acts in the process.

“There was a civilian in his company. If rumours hold true, this civilian has garnered the attention of Orochimaru.” Tsunade frowned at her own words. When the information had come she hadn’t a clue what to make of it. What interest would a civilian have to Orochimaru? Unless he wasn’t just a civilian.

“Orochimaru? Then that means—it means—” Naruto began, the light slowly fading from his eyes as he started to put the pieces together. His hands clenched, throat tight as he swallowed.

“He’s not coming back to the village, Naruto, and you shouldn’t expect him to. That man made his decision long ago when without pause he decided to abandon Konoha.”

“That’s not true! Sasuke—” Sakura shouted, her voice shaking with all her anger. Her self-doubt and confusion, from all the pain because deep down she knew Sasuke would never—

“He left you! He left all of you! Sasuke Uchiha, for as long as he remains outside the border of Konoha is our enemy! _Your_ enemy!” Tsunade shouted. It was harsh but it was the truth! The sooner they accepted it, the quicker they would heal, the quicker they would see that world and their reality for what it was! Kakashi, she realised remained silent through it all. Hands tucked into his pockets as he stared out at the village below. He understood more so than his students and had probably accepted her truth long ago. She realised that accepting the truth didn’t make it any easier to swallow, even for a man like Kakashi Hatake.

“You don’t know him,” Naruto whispered. His voice was strangely soft, yet it still carried throughout the room. It was still jarring but in a different way. It tore at her heart, but what she said, he needed to listen… he needed to understand. She wouldn’t let him fall into a trap she did, she didn’t want him hurt, like Orochimaru, her once dearest friend, had hurt her.

“And you do?” Tsunade asked softly, the room still. Almost silent if not for the light wind that blew outside and the joyful laugh of village children.

“Tell me, Naruto. What do you know of Sasuke Uchiha? Truly know.” Naruto said nothing, blue eyes glaring…accusing. Without a word he spun on his heel and left the room, the door slamming at his departure.

“You’re wrong, Naruto more than anyone would know him. Would understand.” Sakura smiled bitterly, leaving herself before her mentor could say another word. Tsunade Senju, for how powerful she was, for how intelligent, knew nothing.

“You agree with them?” Tsunade asked, eyes trained on the very village that held Kakashi’s attention. The village she swore to protect, a promise she had made to the very blond that had stormed out of her office.

Kakashi said nothing at first, and if Tsunade could see behind his face mask she was sure his mouth would be set in a frown. Without fanfare, he pulled out his trusty book and settled along the window sill.

“No one knows Sasuke Uchiha. No one in this village at least.” It was all she would get out of him she realised. She hadn’t hoped for an ally, but…perhaps she had wished for this to be easier. Wished that with one person in team seven having a level head the others would follow. That Naruto, her precious Naruto would let go.

* * *

 Bloody idiot! Imbecile! _Fool!_ Harry all but growled behind the duct tape that pressed tightly against his lips. He wiggled in spot, his hands and feet bound by wire, and when they wouldn’t give he screamed in frustration. A sound muffled and pitiful. That alone incited Harry’s rage and renewed efforts to wriggle about.

“Would you _stop_!” Sasuke hissed, barely steadying the boat as it rocked dangerously to one side. All around the water splashed furiously, the sound loud in the night air even with the surrounding song of nature.

Harry of course glared and when Sasuke levelled him with his own, Harry merely raised an eyebrow, a wicked light in sparkling green eyes. Sasuke saw it for the taunt it was, could practically hear that weird accent goading him to react.

 _I don’t know,_ **_will_ ** _I?_ Harry’s eyes narrowed before he rocked to the side furiously! Sasuke cursed as the boat dangerously tilted, the wood groaning under the pressure of water liking at its side. Groaning and creaking even more as he leant forward and tried to subdue Harry. The damn man was a springy little thing, wiggling about like some strange worm and still managing to kick him in his face!

Sasuke cursed. He could hear old man Yamato just having a kick out of this. Sasuke Uchiha defeated by some stubborn civilian who didn’t know the meaning of—

“Quit it!” Sasuke glared, grunting as he pinned Harry against the boat’s deck, hand wrapped around his throat.

“Hmphmm!” Harry was cursing up a storm, still trying to kick! Ok, so he admitted that what he was doing was foolish! He would probably drown too if he actually fell overboard but—

Harry’s eyes went impossibly wide, stilling instantly. The motion confused Sasuke for a second before he heard the tell-tale sign of something breaking through the surface of the water. Now that he thought about it, their surroundings were strangely quiet. Birds that had yet to take flight and settle for the night did not chirp, neither did the crickets. And the wind…the wind was non-existent.

Sasuke slowly took the chance to look over his shoulder, no sudden movements. It was as he thought, it was the Seishin. A simple name for something so unexplored or understood.

“Don’t move.” Sasuke glared down at Harry, voice low. He watched as the man hesitantly nodded, eyes not straying from the form behind them. It was as the name described, spirit-like in appearance. Like a strangely mutated eel, transparent and almost fluorescent in nature. It rose up from the water, twisted around curiously as if in search of something, yet unsuccessful.

Slowly Sasuke moved, freezing when the Seishin swiftly turned in his direction, water splashing about. The Seishin couldn’t see, for who knew of it, that was fact, but it responded to movement.

There was a reason Sasuke had no intention of falling into the Saki river. The Seishin was just one of them. The creature seemingly confused began to emit a low whistle, turning away before flicking its head to the right at the sound of shuffling. Sasuke wasted no time, he quickly pulled what looked like firecrackers from his pockets, a few scattering along the deck and rolling where Harry’s head rested.

With a loud hiss, the firecrackers were set alight and the Seishin furiously spun around in search of the sound. Sasuke didn’t wait, he quickly flung the firecrackers towards the shore the cracking sound enough to attract the attention of the creature. They both watched as it dived toward the popping sounds, tail swishing about frantically before disappearing underneath the dark depths of the Saki River. Almost like clockwork, the wind was back, and the hesitant chirp of crickets could be heard.

Sasuke sighed, a hand ran through his hair in either relief or frustration, it could be either or both Harry wagered, especially when dark eyes void of emotions stared at him. Harry swallowed tightly, he wasn’t afraid or anything—he just—he wasn’t afraid!

Sasuke said nothing, simply sat and stared. The strange lightness about him Harry realised was gone. And how hadn’t he noticed that! Noticed that maybe just for a moment Sasuke had been strangely human and not so unapproachable!

Oh, right, he was too busy playing the Gryffindor to analyse the situation properly. Merlin! Even Ron wouldn’t have been acting like he was! So much for being better suited to the house of snakes instead of lions, Harry thought with a depreciating smile across his lips.

He flinched when cold hands circled his arms, forcefully jarred out of his racing thoughts. He didn’t even think to fight when he pulled against a strong chest, or when long legs pinned his own. Sasuke, of course, said nothing, with Harry successfully pinned against his body he retrieved the Oars and began rowing again.

Harry tested how much he could move, only to feel Sasuke’s legs tightening around his own. _Don’t move_. A clear warning. Harry glared in frustration but did stop moving, his head rested against Sasuke’s warm chest. When they began to move again, he could feel every tense of Sasuke’s muscles, smell the rich scent of musk, cinnamon and spice. He didn’t know what it was, but something throbbed painfully in his chest for every breath he took, and his skin was unimaginably hot.

Harry swallowed, glaring out at the water, watching the rippling waves as the oars dipped and parted, propelling them forward each time.

This was humiliating! Nestled against Sasuke like some helpless maiden, chest throbbing for no reason and his throat tight. If he could he would have been biting his lips, a nervous habit. He chanced a look up at Sasuke, but the man steadfastly ignored him. Tense, that what this was. Tense when he realised that he was so closely pressed up against his enemy, warm skin—hot skin against his cheek.

 _Humiliating!_ Harry clenched his bound hands in frustration, steadfastly ignoring the throb within his chest. Humiliating, but wasn’t it himself that had put him in this situation, to begin with. Foolish Gryffindor.

“It’s called the Seishin. Locals say it’s some kind of spirit, but truly its condensed chakra that has somehow gained sentience.” Harry flinched when Sasuke spoke, the rumble of his voice tickling his ear uncomfortably.

“It’s one of the many strange phenomena of the Saki River. I would suggest that you behave, _Harry_.” Harry glared up at Sasuke when the man looked down at him with a smirk, suddenly not so cold again.

“That’s unless you care for a night time swim. Don’t get me wrong, I’m _eager_ to oblige.” Sasuke drawled, amusement shining through when Harry attempted to hiss at him, nails uselessly digging into his skin. By the looks of it, he would have been dead ten times over and then some if Harry had his way.

If there was one person that Harry wanted to Avada Kedavra—

Harry stilled at the thought, images of that cursed spell escaping his wand, Lucius Malfoy dead before he had ever touched the ground. The rage and pain in Draco Malfoy’s eyes as he watched his father’s death, watched his world shatter. That same rage when he flung Harry through the veil, tears staining pale skin. Hatred swimming in blue or were they grey eyes.

Harry suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He had killed someone…again. He hadn’t even thought about it, so caught up in…

Harry clenched his eyes shut, a shuddering breath escaping his lips as he unconsciously buried his face in Sasuke’s chest. Said man looked down curiously but remained silent. He didn’t understand the sudden sombre mood, nor did he understand what Harry seemingly tried to hide away from.

Taking a deep breath Harry opened his eyes, strangely still as he watched the scenery pass him by. Tall trees that twisted and curved to form an alcove above, chirping crickets and croaking toads that shuffled about. The gentle sway of their boat as it parted dark waters and the way Sasuke’s arm moved, slow and steady.  It lulled him in a strange place. A strange place where he wasn’t a…where he wasn’t a monster.

How pitiful, that this, pressed against his enemy, feeling his warmth as it seeped into his own…would bring peace.

“We’ll be there soon. Dorobō-mura.” There was something strange about Sasuke’s tone. Something almost soft that Harry couldn’t help but look up.  He was met with dark eyes, and for a moment their gaze remained locked, filled with silence.

There was a sense of fondness when Sasuke had whispered those words and a sense of longing. As if, this place was a dream that the man would not hope to have. For a moment Harry began to wonder, who exactly was Sasuke Uchiha? The man for once was the first to look away, more power pushed behind rowing the boat, their steady travel hastened in the still night.


	5. From All Ends We See...

“Thrice defied him—”

“Seventh month dies!—”

“Mark him equal! Seventh month dies!—”

“Seventh! Seventh month! Seven—” Voldemort’s frantic whispers filled the antechamber, a hollow whisper that bounced off columns of ivory and floors of marble. His black robes dragged along the floors, the fabric sounding like a thousand snakes trailed behind the man as he paced, uncaring if he had an audience. Uncaring of Draco Malfoy that cowered in the shadows, called upon by his master unwilling as he was.

“Mark him equal! Neither lives, neither survives!—” Draco Malfoy swallowed the painful lump in his throat as he watched the Dark Lord, his master where he wanted none. If not for the legacy of his pureblood family, the legacy of the Malfoy…the legacy of his father he could have—

 He clenched his sweaty hands before nervously wiping them at the sides if his cotton pants. His eyes watered, tears threating to spill where they had no right to, the back of his neck hot, for the heat that permeated through the chamber.

He had loved his father. The man who had loved him effortlessly even for being less than what a Malfoy heir should have been, even for continuing to be a disappointment. For always being one step behind the wizarding world’s precious saviour.

  _Harry Potter_

The name filled him with so much hate! So much rage! He remembered how he had pushed the man through the veil, watched as the unknown dragged him away to an abyss that no sane man would follow. At the end, he had gained no satisfaction, or perhaps there was no satisfaction to be had for he knew the truth. Blue eyes flickered to the snake-like man, his pale almost translucent skin sickening as the moon from the skylight dared to touch without shame wizarding Britain’s abomination.

The truth.

The name Harry Potter filled him with hate and rage, but it also filled him with hope and with longing for freedom. The veil, the veil had been their chance, Hermione herself had said so.

“Neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish— _vanquish_!” Voldemort froze as he whispered the words, thin long fingers outstretched to the sky as if in awe of a god that deigned to grant him his dearest wish. His lips stretched into a much too wide smile, red eyes staring off at a far away place that no man could see.

The heights of madness, Draco Malfoy thought. Or was it? He watched as Voldemort slowly turned to face him, that terrible smile slipping from his face and giving way to a stillness felt throughout the room. The hairs on his skin stood on end as the air became saturated with potent magic. Potent corrupt magic.

This had been the being his father had served. The devil his father worshipped, and for that lost his life in a spell of green from trembling lips.

“The boy who lived come to die?” Voldemort whispered, a hoarse sound as if he had screamed for eternity. His bare feet silent as he glided across the chamber floor, slowly approaching his servant who stepped back ever so cautiously. A man of many moods Voldemort was. Draco Malfoy could very well be stricken dead in but a moment for any slight. His throat hurt, his skin clammy, the heat stifling at the very thought.

He could die this instant!  He could die and no one would care! No one but his dearest mother, driven mad by her husband’s death. As mad as all those from the Black family seemed to be.

“My Lord?” Draco ventured to ask, fingers twitching for the wand that should have been strapped in his holster, a wand Harry Potter had stolen in the madness that was the attack at the Ministry of Magic. He had replaced it, yes, but he had never strapped it to his arm as he would have his true wand. A damning sense of loyalty, for this mistake, could spell his end. Though what battle would he ever win against the Dark Lord.

“Seven, seventh. Neither can live while the other survives. Seven—seventh—” Voldemort whispered, red eyes piercing. A stare that sought to strip Draco’s soul bare. A gaze that would rip through his mind without the utter of a word, ligimency a mind art the Dark Lord was very much gifted with. Draco flinched when his back hit the heated walls of the antechamber, heart racing like that of a cornered animal. If the Dark Lord should look! If he—no!—the man smelt fear, revelled in it! If he lost his composure all his efforts would be for nought! Hermione would have sacrificed so much for—his father would have died for nothing!

Along nail trailed down his cheek, pricking at his pale skin, as if barely holding back from digging in and watching crimson run free. He trembled, he had always been called a coward, and under the steadfast gaze of the Dark Lord, was he anything but?

Harry Potter would not cower in fear. The last hope of the wizarding world, Malfoy thought with disdain. A bitter taste in his mouth as he thought of the one who had _everything_ he could not! The foolish boy who knew nothing! So naive and stupid!

“Tell me little Malfoy, do you think me a fool?” Voldemort hissed, nails finally digging into soft flesh. Draco cried out in pain, hand gripping his master’s hand in a vain attempt to get away. He did this for his freedom! He did this for his freedom! These were his frantic screams of Malfoy’s mind as Voldemort bore down on him.

“It is the veil! The veil boy! He is not dead! Harry Potter still lives!” Voldemort screeched, flinging Draco to his feet as he began to frantically pace again. Mutterings of the prophecy jumbled and without much order leaving thin lips.

“You dare deceive me!” The Dark Lord whirled around with a hiss, blood red eyes promising no quick death should he find the Malfoy heir wanting.

“No my Lord! I do as you ask. I threw Potter through the veil, to his death as you ask!” Draco screamed, prostrate before his hated master.

“As I ask?” Voldemort’s temper suddenly cooled, a cruel smirk crossing his lips before that too vanished and he paced once more.

“The veil—and neither can live—seventh—have the power he knows not.”

The Dark Lord was truly mad! Draco with much hesitance pulled himself from the marble floor. No sudden movements, lest he attracts the attention of the devil. Breath held he quickly fled the antechamber, mad laughs echoing in his ear.

“—and he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not—vanquish—the seventh!”

* * *

“—up. Wake up.” Harry groan was muffled behind the duct tape as he was gently shaken awake. Blurry eyes opened in confusion, seeing nothing but darkness for a moment. He wagered it was still night or was it early morning?

Harry’s heart jumped and cursed like any sailor when so suddenly the duct tape was ripped from his mouth and his skin was left burning in the aftermath.

“Must you always be a bastard?!” Harry hissed, eyes watering as the sting set in, he bound hands rubbing his reddened mouth as struggled to sit up with many failures.

“Must you always prove a nuisance?” Sasuke smirk, a mocking glint in his eyes as he finally lifted his leg and allowed Harry to scramble to the opposite side of the boat.  Harry if course tripped over himself, glaring at the snort he heard behind him before he sat up with as much dignity he could muster.

“Ha—bloody—ha!” Harry drawled, deciding to let it go for once and not be riled up. Sasuke of course simply continued to stare in amusement as he rowed the boat. Harry felt his eyes on him. He felt antsy with such a heavy gaze zeroed in on him, even though stares were something he ought to have been used to.

Harry clenched his teeth, he wasn’t going to explode like an idiot. He couldn’t afford to. At the thought, his shoulders slumped and a deep sigh escaped his lips. It was one of deep bone tired sighs. Enough of the burdens that weighed his shoulders to lift for a second before the weight returned heavier than before. He sighed again, wishing he could wrap his arms around himself, or maybe...

His eyes flickered over to Sasuke who had seemingly lost interest in staring at him, as silent as they had first met and he forced on this endless journey to a man that wanted only Merlin knew what from him.

Maybe, seek the strangely gentle warmth he had received from the man that sat before him. He had lost himself in the memories of his last moments before the wizarding world was no more to him yet—

The smell of musk and spices, cinnamon and something he could only ever refer to as electric when he was pushed against his captures…no, Sasuke’s chest had lulled him to an unknown place. Harry looked away at the ridiculous thought only to squint when the darkness gave way to bright light and the sound of lively chirping birds. It was then that he realized it was morning and that the darkness that had overcome them was one created from a strange tunnel they now exited.

“That thing you did—at the inn—what was it?” Sasuke’s question didn’t hold the trace of curiosity Harry knew the man felt. He wasn’t even looking at him, almost nonchalant like the possible answer did not intrigue him.

“Thing? What thing?” Harry couldn’t help his mocking grin, green eyes widened in mock innocence as he watched Sasuke scowl at the evasion. Said man narrowed his eyes at the much too smug man, before simply looking away again. He didn’t much care either way, whatever Harry had done. Or so he told himself.

“What? The mighty Sasuke simply gives up? What a travesty?” Harry smirked leaning forward to get a good look at those dark eyes. He bet the man would be equal parts angry and frustrated! Ha, so this must be how it felt to finally have the one up on the insufferable—

“So eager to relinquish all your secrets?” The sudden change of mood and tone had brought Harry to screeching halt, his meagre victory quickly vanishing like stardust among the sand.

“I’m not—!”

“Eager to let me see into the darkest reaches of what you hold ever so dare?” A sweet dark mockingly drawl. Tempting inclinations that sent shivers Harry couldn’t explain up his spine, and a sudden throb and tenseness that stirred where it had no right stirring. Harry grasped at a comeback, he really did! Growing increasingly frustrated with his tongue tied state and the damn anxiousness he couldn’t explain as he watched that that damnable smirk cross what looked like soft lips.

A light colour, perfectly formed—what the hell was he thinking all of a sudden!

Swallowing past the tightness in his throat Harry threw Sasuke a fierce glare before he turned away in a huff. Obviously indicating that this was the end of that conversation! And no, he did not just lose the game he had started!

The infuriating, smug, toe-rag of a man who thought—

Sasuke chuckled, a sound that was wholly condescending and very much aware of who the victor in their boat was. At this rate, Harry would lose his teeth for how hard he clenched them, stilling his ever trouble-making tongue.

Nothing else was said between the two. Harry watched as the sky finally transitioned into a blue brilliance, birds flying overhead, and the wind a mere whisper. He noticed that the further they rowed, the more he saw strange totem-like statues and carved little houses that looked like toys clustered away in tall grass. Shrines he recalled Hermione had told him once, they had both grown curious about other cultures. The Elemental Nations held so many similarities to the Japanese culture that the very thought that those small little houses weren’t shrines would have been absurd.

“In a few minutes, we will be there. Whatever you see, whatever you hear, don’t allow your eyes to linger.” The sudden serious warning had Harry looking at Sasuke once more. The man was serious, and though he did not voice it, there was a clear warning for him to behave.  Harry frowned but said nothing, eyes trained on what for the first time resembled civilization.

A towering bridge with colourful flags and weird charms swinging in the wind. Standing tall a sign crudely written revealed it's tightly held secret.

_Dorobō-mura_

* * *

 Heavy ragged breaths! The beat of a heart pushed past its limit, da-dup, da-dup against a severely bruised chest. The man cared not! He ran like his life depended on it. His life did depend on it! He had taken a chance and succeeded, through the odds he had made it free.

Free but lost in a world he knew nothing about.

Mouth dry, he swerved around the corner of an abandoned building! The whole village was abandoned, filled with rotted wood and crumbling stone buildings. The village had seen better days he was sure, dust tainting the air he breathed and tearing at his sensitive lungs.

Almost as if his lungs heard his thoughts, they screamed in protest, crippling coughs taking a hold of him, stained with blood. Nearby he could hear these men, the ones who chased him shouting in their strange language. Twisted garbles that sound ever so menacing. Would he get this far, only to fail?! To not escape!

To save her! Save the woman he loved!

He frantically looked around the corner, above, and even beside him. No sign of the men, but their shouting could be heard still in the distance, increasing in anger. Licking nervously at his busted swollen lip, he made the decision to run yet again. He had little cover he knew, not even shadows from the sparse clouds but—

He was sprinting down the narrowed alleys, or what remained of them. Sweat slick down his back, muscles burning, protesting the treatment after being useless for so long.

How long had he been a prisoner in a land he could not understand. A land he cursed the ferret prick for allowing Hermione to venture! She had a plan, big plans, she overreached, too previous! Too eager to see the end to a war that—

Too quick! Breath caught in his throat he felt the heavy weight of multiple bodies forcing him to the ground. His knees gave out, a burst of pain shooting through his form as he landed with a harsh thud. He fought with all he had! Kicking, screaming—

“No! No! Let me go—Merlin let me go!” He screamed himself hoarse, the feeling of crushing defeat a bitter pill to swallow. He couldn’t handle it, fighting furious tears that prickled at his eyes, even as the bound his hands behind his back, forced him to his feet. A bag hauled over his head, the sudden darkness stifling and inducing a sense of fear he had pushed to the back of his mind for so long.

How could he fail?! He was so close! In one reckless moment from his guard, he had seen an opportunity and he took it! By Merlin’s saggy left tits he took it! Anything to find her, to save her!

How long had he been here? Months? Years? He didn’t know. Was…was _he_ here too? Was his best friend here too? From the terrible plan that Hermione had no right thinking of, not without consulting—

He doubled over in pain as a fist dug into his gut, and with a sudden rush darkness, his ever enemy had come to greet him.

* * *

Green eyes widened in awe as the boat passed through the large gate of the Dorobō-mura village. He watched village folk dressed in cotton clothes and straw hats amble about, great big smiles on their faces. Fishermen haggling with merchants who haggled with interested customers. The sound flutes and drums, music that sang true as village maidens danced chiming bells sounding for their beautiful movements.

The laughter, oh the laughter! It tore at his heart in the sweetest way, and he himself could not help his gentle smile. 

“Get your silks here! Your silks here!”  Merchant bellowed, his fat belly swinging about as children tried to climb his huge form. The man only laughed, batting away at grabby hands, finger pointed in reprimand, though in jest.

“Remember what I said.” Sasuke voice cut through the little joy that had seeped into his being. He could not understand why it was so easy to lose himself in light of his circumstances.

Harry would admit confusion as he continued to observe the village, smiling when children cheered at them, running alongside the boat. Sasuke had spoken as if some great taboo was nestled inside Dorobō-mura, yet all he had seen was a village seemingly happy. A village at peace, filled with hope and a new dream.

Filled with love.

It was when they finally approached a dock did he understand.

Unexpectedly, at least for him, a welcoming party apparently awaited them. Women and children in great cheer, hands filled with baskets overflowing with food and textiles. As if they welcomed some great ambassador that had gone for too long. What stood out most was their faces, horribly burnt and disfigured. Some bore their marks to the world without shame, other hid under shawls, though their smiles never dampened.

“Harry—”

“Don’t stare, I’m no raging buffoon.” Harry interrupted voice low but holding a strength and seriousness that Sasuke had never heard. For the first time, he saw a glimpse of the serious individual who hid behind all that mischief. Someone who had seen much, and perhaps was not as naïve and immature as he had thought.

“Uchiha-sama!” A woman greeted with a wide smile. She was a beautiful little thing, with flowing brown hair and deep mocha skin. She was fine-boned, almost looked as if the wind would simply blow and break her hold, a beautiful Kimono fluttering around her.

Yes, she was a beauty, but her face was severely scarred.

The left side of her face bore deep claw marks, ropey skin pulled tight, twisted and turned and extending to her neck. They looked painful and raw, and for a moment Harry wondered what could have happened to her? What could have happened to all of them? He didn’t stare like he said he would, instead he remained silent and watched as the boat was tethered. Sasuke was the first to step on the dock, no surprise when the woman suddenly flung herself at him, barely holding back happy tears. The rest of the women followed, children happily shouting.

“Uchiha-sama!”

“You came back!”

“Did you bring the thingy? Did you?! You promised, Uchiha-sama!”

Harry couldn’t help how he felt in that moment. As if he had stepped in the twilight zone. Watching these women and children crowd this man, the genuine joy in their eyes. But more so that barely noticeable smile as Sasuke—the man he had called monster—stooped down to ruffle the hair of those hyper children. How he allowed them to clamour over him, feet digging into his ribs painfully as they all tried to get their fill.

“Uchiha-sama, we’re so glad you returned” The woman who had first greeted him smiled, gently dabbing at her eyes, before her eyes strayed to Harry who still sat in awe. When his green eyes met soulful gold, he felt as if he were wanting of something, as if…as if he knew nothing. As if his plight in life was wholly insignificant if only for how he viewed the world and his purpose in it.

“And with a guest.” Her smile was tight and unsure. Sasuke sense her unease, dark eyes flickering to Harry for a second.

“Ai, would you—” Sasuke’s voice was strangely soft as he rested a heavy hand on the woman’s shoulder. Nothing more had to be said, Ai already smiling instructing the woman to come along. They had a home to prepare for Uchiha-sama…and his guest.

She looked back once, and as she watched Sasuke approach the boat and the now frowning man, she nodded to herself.

For Uchiha-sama then.

Harry scowled as Sasuke lifted him from the boat, large hands circling his waist—and just when had his waist been so thin?!

“You’re awfully popular,” Harry muttered, relieved when he was placed on his feet, even with Sasuke’s arms lingering around his waist. He looked up when the arms did not move, tensing even. Sasuke attention was not on him though, no, it was the group of women he stared at in…concern.

Harry bit his lip, for once not sure if he should interrupt the man’s thoughts. Even pressed against him like this, much too intimate hold for enemies. The fact that he could feel Sasuke’s shifting muscles—

Harry cleared his throat loud enough that it jarred Sasuke from his thoughts. Looking down he realized their state, and almost as if burnt he pulled away harshly.

“Come, we shouldn’t keep our host waiting.” Sasuke was cold again and didn’t even look back as if expected Harry to simply obey. Glancing around, Harry didn’t even protest, he simply caught up enough to fall in step with the Uchiha, thoughts troubled.

 


	6. Something strange...to define

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto.**

* * *

 “Will you ever tell him the truth?” The question weighed heavy on the night air, a terrible companion for the chirping crickets and the chatter of tree leaves blowing in the wind.

“Itachi?” Kisame questioned, a futile attempt to fill the never-ending silence their travel had become. They had set out once again to capture the nine-tailed fox, rumours had it the orange brat was outside the protective walls of Konoha once again. Determined to return the last Uchiha to that damnable village…almost last, he corrected himself as he spared his companion a look. Itachi, of course, ignored him, arms crossed over his chest and tucked into his large sleeves. He stared straight ahead, footsteps silent against the gravel pathway, his cloak fluttering in the wind.

“Ita—”

“The truth is of no consequence.” The Uchiha interrupted, cold eyes sparring Kisame a look, reading very expression and non-expression there was. Itachi was a strangely intense man, for one so silent. Every motion was calculated and exact. There was no room for spontaneity, every action, must go according to the plan he had set out. For Itachi, there could be no other way. Unfortunately for him, the younger Uchiha didn’t seem to agree, forever unpredictable and unreadable.

“Of course not! It’s not like the little brat won’t lose his shit and decide to both kill you and completely annihilate the leaf village and all its pathetic ninja. No offence.” Kisame added almost as an afterthought, arms crossed behind his head as he looked up at the night sky.

Itachi didn’t respond, Kisame honestly didn’t expect him to. For the Uchiha, what little conversation there was, was over. He had an image of his brother, pretended that he could understand the kid…and just maybe he should stop referring to him as that. Sasuke Uchiha was no child, and maybe he had never been one, not after what Itachi had done. And for what cause? The sake of a village that didn’t give a damn about the Uchiha clan. Only saw them for the Sharingan and the power that particular gift could bring, or curse rather.

“You’re wrong you know. I don’t know what plot you think you have cooked up for the brat, but he sure as hell won’t fall in line like you want him to.” Kisame smirked when he felt those piercing dark eyes. If he didn’t know better he would almost think Itachi Uchiha was angry. Again, much too intense for a man already on his way to his deathbed.

“He won’t absolve you of your crimes. I dare say, he’d throw it back in your face, chain you down with it as he drags both you and himself to hell.” The man wore a shark-like grin a low laugh escaping his lips at the thought. What utter jackasses these two idiots were. If anything, Itachi and Sasuke had that much in common.

“At the end of the day, the Uchiha clan will be wiped out of existence. Like that annoying shit stain at the bottom of your shoes.”

“We’re here,” Itachi muttered, eyes trained on the village in the distance. It was pretty bright, flooded with paper lamps and much too loud chatter. A fishing village, if the smell didn’t give it away, the piles upon piles of fish would. The people ambled around, chatter loud, baskets full and pockets empty for money well spent. The nine tailed brat was here or should be at any rate. Konoha was hot on the little Uchiha’s trail, or whatever was left of it. He had seemingly disappeared and with a civilian no less, an interesting development if Itachi’s reaction was anything to go by.

“I can taste it in the air. Nine-tailed fox, and what is that? Lightning and fire, and something…strange. Your brother perhaps?” Kisame drawled, much too amused as Itachi finally reacted. It was in the slight twitch of his fingers, stiffness in his spine and the sharpness in dark eyes that bled a terrible red.

“Sasuke, he’s long gone,” Itachi muttered, tension releasing from his shoulders as his Sharingan faded out if sight. It would have been too soon if Sasuke had been here. Without another word Itachi walked forward, losing himself in the crowd of villagers. No one seemed to notice him, no one would.

“That still doesn’t explain that strange taste in the air. What are you up to, Sasuke Uchiha?”

* * *

“We’re wasting time!” The tension was thick and heavy. One wouldn’t even be able to cut it with a knife, it was that palpable. Sakura felt jittery, her leg bouncing in place as she stared out at the bustling village, her lip held between her teeth. She tapped her short nails against the window ledge, very much aware of Naruto’s constant shifting beside her. That ever consuming energy and need to just move barely contained. Sasuke, he should have been here! He had to be!

“The villagers did describe someone fitting Sasuke’s description, but—”

“It’s not him,” Naruto muttered. He didn’t have to be a genius to figure that out. If Sasuke was here, he sure as hell wasn’t any longer. They were—

“—so close! Damn it! He was right here!” Sakura shouted, frustrated tears threatening to overflow, her fist clenched painfully tight.

“To be fair, I doubt he actually was.” It was Shikamaru. It was actually he who had delivered the disappointing news. The tip was a dead end if it had ever been a tip, to begin with. He took a slow drag of his cigarette, the smoke curling from his lips, warming his chest. It was a habit he wasn’t about to shake, not when it brought him peace of mind.

His statement garnered the attention of the remnants of team seven. Piercing blue eyes and soft green. There was a desperation to them along with an intense determination. A misguided one maybe, their attempts to return Sasuke to the hidden village was for the most part selfish. It made them equally focused and unfocused. Made them unpredictable yet easily overcome should they, in fact, encounter the Uchiha.

They weren’t ready.

“What do you mean?” Naruto’s eyes narrowed as he slowly pulled away from the window. Beside him, Sakura did the same, Shikamaru granted their undivided attention. Said man didn’t seem affected by their gaze, instead, he seemed contemplative as he took another drag from his cigarette, the smoke released with a low hiss.

“Sasuke, he’s not an idiot. It threw me off at first, but I bet that chakra trail is as fake as they come. Kiba would tell you as much. He’s still down there trying to figure out when this all went south.” Shikamaru gently stubbed out the cigarette in the nearby ashtray before he silently took a seat, fingers pushed together in front of him as he began to think.

“But it  _is_  his signature!” Sakura insisted, looking to Naruto for confirmation. Naruto gave a tight nod, for once not as vocal as he tried to process just what Shikamaru was saying.

“Do you honestly believe Sasuke Uchiha would be so careless as to leave a trail behind? A trail so easily followed. He deliberately did this, probably circled around, and backtracked on the trail he already set before vanishing” Shikamaru frowned as he imagined the pieces moving across the board. Sasuke had them thinking they were steadily trailing behind when they were in fact ahead of the man.

It stood to question where he could have gone? He wasn’t ahead, and Jiraiya's network revealed that Sasuke had yet to return to Orochimaru. Did he defect again?

“So we’re wasting our time then! We should be leaving!” Naruto rushed out, already making his way to the door, Sakura scrambling after him.

“Leave and go where Naruto?” Shikamaru sighed, combing his hand through his hair in frustration.

“He’s out there, Shikamaru! The longer we stay here the further he—” Naruto glared, voice angry and frustrated because  _god!—_ why couldn’t anybody understand! They were so close, he could practically taste it. If they just moved faster, looked harder! Sasuke would be back with them where he belonged! He could finally make this right!

“He’s here!” The door to their room suddenly banged open, a lamp falling off the small table and crashing to the floor. Kiba was bent over, gasping for breath as Akamaru hovered hesitantly outside, light growls echoing through the room.

“Sasuke!” Sakura shouted in disbelief, green eyes lighting up, only to slowly dim as Kiba shook his head.

“Itachi—it was Itachi! Akamaru smelled him. Him and shark breath!” Kiba gasped, swallowing tightly as he tried to catch his breath.

“Akatsuki!” Naruto growled.

“Naruto! We can’t rush into this! Your safety trumps hunting down Sasuke right now.” Shikamaru glared, quickly rising from his seat. He had to take control of this situation.

“H-he’s right, Naruto. We can focus on Sasuke after, right now you’re the one that matters.” It pained Sakura to say it, but she had to be level-headed. She could see that Naruto didn’t agree, that he was about to refuse.

“We can’t find Sasuke if you’re captured, Naruto! We can’t bring him back— _you_  can’t bring him back if we let the Akatsuki take you!” Sakura shouted, her pale green eyes brooking no argument. Sasuke, he would have to wait.

“Damn it!” Naruto hissed, struggling to back down.

They were so close!

“Fine!” He glared. Finally backing down, deferred to Shikamaru who had been appointed team leader by Tsunade.

“All right, this is what we’re going to do.” Shikamaru began quickly, strategy after strategy reeling through his head.

* * *

 “Mister, Mister, is it true?!” Harry blinked owlishly in face of an overly excited brat and his accompanied minions. It was a little boy with chubby cheeks and a missing front tooth or two, face stained with what might have been candy but Harry wasn’t too sure. Behind him his friends stumbled, bouncing on the balls of their feet, grins wide as they stared at Harry in wonder. It honestly made him more uncomfortable that he would admit.

“Hiroshi! What did I tell you about bothering the guest! Off with you, boy!” Haya scolded the children, finger pointed in a threatening motion, her other and braced at her hip.

She was Harry’s assigned guide. The moment he had been removed from the boat and forced to keep up with Sasuke he had suddenly found himself abandoned. Well, maybe not abandoned, Harry couldn’t help but look back at the past few hours. Try to figure out what exactly he was missing in this strange picture. They had left the hustle and bustle of the village behind and had made their way to what seemed like a private shrine house. It bore an eerie image, surrounded by twisting trees and hanging vines that were more wilted than anything.

A shrine house buried in forestry, expanding miles on end as if it were an elite clan house. Maybe it was, Harry wasn’t sure.

What he did know, was that the air was heavy, and filled with an energy that made his inner magic shy away. His skin crawled at the thought, hairs rising on end as even then it felt as if he were watched. As if he were to be judged as it seemed the woman, Ai had already judged him.

“—now off, with you lot! Ai-sama wouldn’t like you bothering her guest!” Haya glared, though it was obvious she wasn’t truly angry. Her pretty honey eyes were warm and inviting, and not even the deep scars that chipped away at what must have once been full lips could detract from them. The children, of course, whined, Hiroshi the obvious ringleader the most vocal of the lot.

“Bu—!”

“Off with you, Hiroshi!” Haya was not having it! If she let the brats loose on the pour stranger she didn’t ever believe he would recover. She chanced a glance at the obviously confused man, his luminescent green eyes wide and almost lost—and weren’t those eyes just beautiful!

“You’re no fun, Haya!” The children shouted, sticking out their tongues as they ran off, laughter echoing down the empty hallway.

“Forgive me, ah—I forgot your name!” Haya blushed in embarrassment, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head as she desperately tried to grasp for the name. Harry couldn’t help the small amused smile that slipped through, Haya looked so ridiculous, tapping at her lip eyes scrunched up. She was purely innocent and inviting, a completely different air from his brief introduction to Ai.

“Ah! It’s Hari!” Haya stumbled over the words, the pronunciation butchered more than anything else. She didn’t seem to mind though, eyes light up with joy as she did a strange little jig beside Harry, her grin wide.

“Harry, actually but close enough.” Harry laughed, his bound hands rubbing his cheek that had begun to itch. The action drew Haya’s curious attention, a deep crease marring her brows as she frowned. She seemed troubled, hesitant to ask—

“Uchiha-sama…he’s the one that did that to you, isn’t he?” She has concerned Harry realised. Not only that but troubled by the tight wires that were wrapped around his wrist. To tell the truth, they hurt a lot. The wires cut into his skin and itched and burned simultaneously. The surrounding skin was a vivid red, and wales were already forming from his own futile attempts to wriggle out of his restraints. Strange enough when he tried to use his magic in little bursts, it didn’t respond. Was it an after effect of attempting wandless magic where he had no true training in the art?

“He’s quite fond of tying me up you see! The highlight of his obviously uneventful life.” Harry’s smile was much too wide to be genuine, as he wiggled his wrist, showing how little he could actually move his hand. Haya, of course, did not laugh at his darker side of humour, instead, she seemed even more troubled, biting at her lips before she looked away and towards the mountains obscured by mist in the distance.

“H-he didn’t hurt you did he?” The question caught Harry off guard. Did Sasuke ever hurt him? He had never once thought about it since his capture. Too caught up in the fact that he was in fact captured, that he was seemingly hopeless and useless in the same breath! Merlin! He hadn’t even thought about repairing his broken wand, that’s if he could even repair it!

“Harry-san?” The cautious question tore Harry from his frantic thoughts, deep green eyes staring into worried honey. Haya bit her scared lips nervously, her hands twisting in her kimono as if she dreaded the answer to come. Had Sasuke Uchiha hurt him?

“No. Other than binding my hands and my legs so I couldn’t escape, he never did. Not physically at any rate.” Harry grudgingly muttered. It wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, not when he wanted desperately to say the man that held him captive at the behest of his master, was a wicked man. The image of those ninjas’ death flittered across his mind. The warm blood against his skin, Sasuke’s cold eyes, detached voice as he basically told him it was his fault…monster?

“I’m glad. I thought for a moment that—” Haya froze before she smiled sheepishly, an embarrassed flush across her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, I’m just being silly! I should be showing you around and I’ve yet to at least take you quarter of the way!” Haya bonked her head, grabbing Harry’s bound hands as she pulled him along.

“Wait!” Harry shouted, stumbling to keep up as he was dragged along. Haya, of course, was chattering the entire way, ignoring his protest as she loudly declared the name of the gardens he passed and the strange paintings that seemingly watched him.

“—and this, this is simply called The Gardens.” Haya had finally calmed in her excitement, eyes soft as she looked out at the beautiful garden. It was dark, night having fallen some time ago, a few hours to be exact, night creatures already preparing the sonnet that would be sung that night.

Harry could hear the sound of curious Koi swimming in a koi pond, the dip and ripple of the water, the way silence would great him for a second before the sound went off again. Then there was the strange mixture of dark blue and purple flowers. Beauties he did not know the name of or had ever seen. What stood out the most that Harry paused at the picture, the weeping willow a memory he would never wish to fade coming to mind, was the sight of what he knew to be a Sakura blossom tree smack dab in the centre of the garden.

It was as tall as it was large, twisting bark that seemed to never end, darkened with age and filled with so much life. The tree was mostly bare, what little blossom there were wilted, yet still seemed to appear as majestic as these trees were known to be.

“Beautiful isn’t he?” Haya whispered, a strange smile in place as she gently traced her scars with a thin finger. Harry frowned at that, he could feel that terrible energy again, how his magic shied away yet again. Something felt very wrong, like a disturbed spirit that lingered on.

“Uchiha-sama planted him many years ago. It was the first year we were ushered to this village, a land that was once barren and filled with nothing but death.”

“Why did you ask if he had hurt me?” Green eyes glowed with that intelligence Harry often times hid, his mouth set in a grim line. He would pick apart every word Haya said if it would give him the answer to why this place felt so odd, why he himself felt at odds with—he didn’t even know.

Haya smiled a sad smile, looking away, her eyes catching someone who stood in the distance. Harry followed her gaze, and it was then he realised that the garden led to a room, bathed in the soft amber light of shoji lamps. There at open doors stood Sasuke and with him the woman Ai. She seemed upset, rubbing her eyes as if to prevent tears and Sasuke…

At first glance, he would seem cold, but Harry could see his frustration, a soft light in dark eyes as if he wished not to hurt the woman who seemed ready to weep before him but…steadfast in whatever decision he had made.

Harry wondered for a moment…what was the relationship between Ai and the Uchiha?

“Orochimaru is a terrible man. No, I can’t even call him a man. It is because of him—” Haya began, her fingers digging into her scars, eyes wide open in fright at a memory Harry could not see. The name of the man who sought his capture for whatever reason did get Harry’s attention, and suddenly he wished the woman would stop hesitating and tell him all she knew!

“U-Uchiha-sama, he—he saved us. So many of us, and maybe it was for a selfish reason. After all, Ai—Uchiha-sama killed them, so many of them…but now we are free.” Haya hugged herself, her eyes flickering to the Sakura tree before that strange smile was back. Harry didn’t know if it was a trick of the light if his glasses need to be changed yet again but…he was sure he saw a shadow moving behind the large trunk of the tree.

“Uchiha-sama can be kind, very kind, but he can be so cruel, unforgivingly cruel.”

Haya seemed to be in a daze, her eyes spacey almost like Trelawney in the midst of a vision…Harry hated that look. So many answers hidden in vague sentences, so many twists in a story he didn’t even realise he had stepped into. Harry felt the strange answering pull of his broken wand sealed into his ankle.

“Harry Potter, there is something that awaits you here. What you seek lies here. The worlds...ones of mystery, prophecy strange and self-fulfilling…or is it?” Harry’s eyes widened at the words. How did this woman know his name, his full name! How did she—and the prophecy, how could!—

Haya seemingly came back to herself, a strange confusion about her before she shook her head. Her earlier wide grin was back and the conversation went on as if it had never happened.

“Oh, Harry-san, what are we doing here?! This is Uchiha-sama’s private quarters!” Haya whined in shame, her hands covering her eyes.

“Wait! You said something just now! You said my name!” Harry pushed on. Things weren’t making sense all of a sudden. How did she know these things! Why did she know these things and upped and forgot in a second!

“Uchiha-sama must be waiting! Come, come, we have to go!” Haya turned with a quickened stride. Harry in confusion watched as she went, his eyes flickering back to the room he had seen Sasuke.

Neither he nor Ai was there.

“What you seek is here, Harry. Wake up dear.” Haya suddenly said again, her innocent face no longer so innocent before she walked off, expecting Harry to catch up.

“What the bloody hell,” Harry whispered, brows knitted, and his lips set in a grim line. What kind of place did Sasuke bring him, and what did this strange woman know but pretended she didn’t.

* * *

 “—another chance! Just one more!” Ai voice cracked, her eyes watering as she reached out for Sasuke. He wouldn’t have it though. He gently stepped back, watching as Ai’s face fell her raised hand left hanging in the air where she had tried to caress his face.

“You’ve been good to me, Ai. You took care of me while I was wounded, provided a home when I was lost. Took care of—whatever depth you think you owe me does not exist.” Sasuke’s eyes seemed cold, the look alone made her flinch. A silence settled between the two. They had seen both Haya and Harry for a moment, they would soon arrive before them if Sasuke timed it right.

“Is it because she gave you what I couldn’t? Because you already—”

“This conversation is over.” Ai didn’t get the chance to protest, Sasuke had already slid the shoji doors open to reveal a sheepish Haya and Harry who looked troubled and angry in the same breath.

“I brought him just like you said, Uchiha-sama!” Haya chirped oblivious to the obvious tension in the room. It didn’t pass Harry though, especially when Ai suddenly looked in his direction, eyes filled with barely restrained suspicion.

“I’m not a toy you can push and pull as you please!” Harry hissed when Sasuke looked his way with a raised brow.

“Of course not,  _baby doll_ ,” Sasuke smirked, watching as Harry steadily got angry but tried so desperately to keep a lid on said anger.

“ _Baby do_ —!” Harry began through gritted teeth but was rudely interrupted by a frowning Ai.

“He’ll be staying in the southern quarters, why would—”

“He’ll stay wherever I stay.” Sasuke finally looked away from Harry to stare at Ai.

“Where you stay? But you—you never let anyone stay in your rooms! He’s your captive, you said it yourself—” Ai stepped forward, her hand gripping at her kimono tight. For a moment her eyes flickered over to both Haya and Harry as if she was suddenly aware that they had company.

“He’s your captive! Wouldn’t he be more secure in the—”

“He stays with me.” Sasuke’s tone brooked no argument, dark eyes boring into troubled brown. Ai said nothing a first, before stiffly nodding her head. Without another word she moved to leave, indicating that Haya should follow, not a second glance sparred for Harry who watched the scene carefully.

“You should see him by the way. He’s been waiting for so long.” Ai whispered without turning to face Sasuke. Her voice trembled, obviously hurt, even as she squared her shoulders and raised her head proudly, silently leaving as if nothing had happened.

“Trouble in paradise?” Harry raised a brow. Sasuke, of course, didn’t answer already walking down the hall.

“Come.” Harry though angry and confused could do nothing but follow, glaring as Sasuke indicated for him to enter through the Shoji doors he had opened, first.

The doors led to a large room, though sparsely furnished. All that was there was a large futon, with crimson and black linen, decorated in what looked like handmade embroidery. A small table of oak or maybe something else with surrounding cushions with golden tassels for one to sit. The room itself carried similar accents, crimson and black, with smooth tatami mats. Shoji lamps were lit and flickering, casting odd shadows on plain walls. A sight that was a touch eerie with the sound of rustling leaves that travelled through the open door that opened to the very garden Haya had taken him.

“Are you done staring?” Harry would not admit that he had jumped slightly when he felt Sasuke so close behind him. His heart was honestly still racing, having forgotten about the man for a moment. Harry’s eyes strayed to the strange symbol of the fan that now that he looked closer was also on Sasuke’s clothes. Without a word he slowly turned to face Sasuke.

“Where can I take a shower, I’m disgusting.” Harry glared, pouty lips set in a tight frown that even his past Transfiguration professor would have been proud of the amount of disapproval in one action.

“Not going to demand I release you?” Sasuke drawled, pointedly looking at Harry’s now much bruised bound hands.

“A futile endeavour I’m sure.” Harry drawled himself. He was tired, filthy, and not only that, he had the lingering scent of cinnamon and spices on his person. Sasuke’s scent.

He hated it!

“Testy.” Sasuke simply whispered, pulling Harry closer by his bound hands. Harry cursed silently when he found himself pressed so close to a much too hot chest, Sasuke’s larger hands circling his bruised wrist. Why was the man so warm? As if flames were a light within him. Before he could even protest he felt the gentle whisper of what he had come to know as chakra in the air, and suddenly the wires snapped before his very eyes.

Harry swallowed tightly, his chest was doing that thing again. Feeling strangely tight as he inhaled the scent of cinnamon, and that warmth that…

“You’ll bathe in the next room, and you won’t try to escape through those wide windows.” Sasuke’s voice was almost a whisper, not that it was any less dark and imposing.

“You’ll use the salve I’ll give you for your wrist, you’ll get dressed in the clothes I give you and you’ll sleep in this very futon without so much as a protest from those pouty lips of yours.” Sasuke still held onto Harry’s hands, forcing Harry impossibly close as he got his point across. He could put up with Harry’s antics, but not here.

Never here.

“And if I choose to defy you? After all, I’m a cornered man that wishes nothing more to escape? What will you do then,  _Uchiha-sama_?” Harry spoke just as soft, green eyes mocking as he stared up at deep pools of onyx. A slow smirk made its way across Sasuke’s features, dark eyes equally mocking. Knowing that with just a look he was taunting Harry, getting him angry yet again.

“Impossible. After all, you didn’t think I would leave you in the bath alone did you? Not after what I’ve seen you do.” Harry froze at those words, eyes widening when Sasuke whispered in his ear.

“There is this saying about not dealing all your cards before time. You might want to exercise such a practice, after all where I once gave you leeway, I’ll not let you of my sight.” Leaning back, Sasuke slowly released Harry’s hand, stepping back with an amused smirk as Harry’s green threatened to set him alight and revel in his demise.

“So  _baby doll_ , this is the part where you strip.”

“You bastard!” Harry hissed. If he could he would strangle the smug git where he stood!

 


	7. Whisper of a Scourge

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto**

_“So baby doll, this is the part where you strip.”_

_“You bastard!” Harry hissed. If he could he would strangle the smug git where he stood!_

It was…unimaginably tense? Was that even the appropriate expression for the situation he had found himself in? The smug git hadn’t been joking, wasn’t even being his regular asshole self even with that smirk upon his pale lips. He had meant it when he said he would not be let out of his sight. Even now he could feel those dark eyes piercing into his clothed back, waiting…

Harry glared at the still water of the open bath, not even a ripple in its depths as he stood on slightly damp wood. Damp, because of the rising steam from the bath that rolled and twisted around his body as if a snake inviting its prey to its own demise.  The night was oddly silent, maybe even she herself could feel the tension within the room, the anger as Harry gripped the overlapping lining of his thin yukata. His knuckles were bleached white for how tightly he held the material that suddenly seemed flimsy and most impractical now that he thought about it.

“This isn’t necessary! You’ve proved your point!” Harry gritted out, refusing to look behind him even as he clenched his teeth in anger. He could hear the soft shuffle of material behind him, and for a moment his heart seized. Sasuke, he wouldn’t actually  _join_  him would he?! It was preposterous the very thought! The man wouldn’t go so far would he?!

“I was proving a point?” Harry cursed at the mockery in Sasuke’s words. This man, this Merlin forsaken git of a man was—

“Of course you wer—!” Harry swirled in anger, deep green eyes blazing hellfire, hands clenched at his sides. He wasn’t having any of this! Enough was enough damn it! He was done playing the weak little—

—Sasuke wasn’t there.

He had swirled around ready to rip Sasuke a new one, draw on his slowly filling wells of magic and blast him to Netherlands arrogant infuriating smirk and all and make like a banana and split! He didn’t care anymore, he was wasting time and his wand was still broken and only Merlin knew where Draco Malfoy’s wand was—

And Sasuke…was not there.

Harry felt his mouth hang open, almost like bloody slow motion as his clenched hands fell lifelessly at his side, a sudden cold wind blowing through the wide bath windows

What the bloody—

“I thought you said you weren’t leaving me out of your sight you bloody plank!” Harry shouted only to slap his hands over his mouth, eyes wide open at his stupidity. Sometimes his bloody mouth just got away with him! He could just see it now, that stupid eyebrow-raising in mockery, treating him like some misbehaving child that needed to be humoured.

Augh!

“Right, Harry. Shout like a floundering ninny that you want him to watch you get naked in this obviously  _not_  lake framed by wood!” Harry muttered to himself, the tension sliding from his shoulders and his heart beating normally once again. Heaving a heavy sigh, Harry turned to face the steaming bath again, green eyes trained on the water, watching as the stillness suddenly gave away to small ripples as the wind blew. He did feel disgusting, he really did. Travelling for so long in the one stitch of clothing on his back, a piece of clothing procured for him from that disgusting pig of an Innkeeper…

It might have been the silence or not silence. He could, after all, hear what sounded like cut bamboo dipping into a koi pond. Maybe it was the sweltering steam that soaked his hair and caused the chaotic mess to curl and twist around his face. Or the dampness that settled on his skin, and the sweet smell of spices that permeated the air.

He didn’t know what it was, but it was the weight of the world collapsed on his shoulders. The defiance he wore like a badge once shining in his eyes melting away to something dark and troubled. The childish mischief was gone in the blink of an eye, an almost unnoticeable tremor in his limbs. He could pretend to be unbothered and oblivious for only so long.

Harry bit his lips through shallow breath, his nails biting into his skin, arms wrapped around himself. What was this? Why was he here? How was he here? He couldn’t ignore it anymore. He was in unknown lands, with no idea how to get back. Only the glasses on his face, a broken wand and minuscule skill in wandless magic. He spared a glance at the closed shogi doors behind him, the red in that strange symbol painted on the thin paper. Giving the appearance that it bled into white as the steam settled on its surface in small water droplets.

Harry took a deep breath, it was more painful than one would expect. His throat felt tight and he might have been tempted to say he couldn’t breathe. Closing his eyes for a moment, Harry slowly began to work the binds of his yukata open, the soft material slipping down his shoulders, slowly sliding away from his body to rest in a heap around his feet. His underwear followed shortly, and it was then that he felt the true heat of the room, a great contrast to the slight wind that would blow now and again through wide windows.

He barely resisted the urge to look over his shoulders. The Shoji doors were still pulled shut and perhaps he was not truly alone, but for now—

Harry hesitated no longer. He silently slipped into the fragrant water, the heat seeping into his skin, spreading to the deepest part his core and sinking into his bones. A small puff of air escaped parted red lips, head tilting back as green eyes slowly closed, fully immersing himself in the sensation. It was probably too late, but perhaps he should have caught his hair in a bun. With a part to the side, his hair was a mass of chaotic curls shorn into a bob that tickled at his neck. He could feel how the hairs stuck uncomfortably to his neck and if the soothing heat hadn’t consumed him in its entirety he would have been tempted to remove them.

Before he knew it may be an hour had passed where he had scrubbed his body clean, washed away the slick of soap and submerged himself to the neck in the constantly hot water.

“Through the veil,” Harry whispered to himself, hands hidden by the rippling water gently caressing the rune carved into his ankle. The slight pulse of magic was like a breath of fresh air, the feel of two broken pieces of a wand so familiar released to his hold. It was like coming home, elation and joy overflowing until all that emotion gave way to despair and deep pain. The images of his wand being broken, the painful stab in his heart as the memories of the moment his wand was broken and their bond snapped flickered through his mind. Memories of Hermione, that no-nonsense stare and Ron ever so sheepish.

His eyes burned and for a moment his sight blurred.  He held up his broken wand, perhaps if he were anyone else he would have wept. As it was, he had never shed a tear and he wouldn’t start now. Swallowing the lump in his throat he released a shuddering breath. First thing first he would have to fix his wand and sparing another look to the closed shoji doors and do something about this particular situation.

 _“What you seek is here, Harry—”_ That strange woman’s eerie words echoed through his mind. Holding his broken wand tight to his chest he slowly pulled himself out of the steaming bath, not even flinching when upon his exit the water seemingly began to drain away.

Sasuke Uchiha captured him at the behest of a man known as the Snake Sanin, a man he  _must_  have defied at least once if Haya’s confusing ramblings were anything. Harry silently wrapped a thin robe around his body as he pulled the shoji doors open. Perhaps it was time he put his inner Slytherin to wor—

Skin—

Pale skin…

Harry came up short, his train of thought for a moment thwarted, so unexpected the sight before him. Bathed in the light of the lonely moon, an ode to a fallen spectre he was left without words. Sasuke, silent as he ever was when he seemingly lost himself in brooding thoughts, cold at first glance, stood still.

His muscled back bare to his sight, carved…solid, glistening with the sheen of sweat from the heat that Harry realised had spread to the bedroom. It was sudden, the odd realisation of the danger he had bullheadedly courted. To realise that the man who frustrated him, drove him up a wall wasn’t all he seemed. Harry’s lips parted slightly, the heat might not have been sweltering, but standing there, green eyes trained on this man’s back—

Sasuke slowly glanced over his shoulder. Perhaps it was only slow to Harry’s own perception, dark eyes boring into his own with cold regard. Thick dark lashes almost damp, as a few locks of equally dark hair, plastered to the side of his face.

“Took your time didn’t you.” A smirk on pale lips, even as Sasuke pushed the doors to the garden open, inviting more light and the sweet chill of the night air. So quickly the strange moment was broken and dazed green became the ever burning furnace they tended to be around the Uchiha.

“Yes, one does take the time to properly partake in higher levels of hygiene once presented with something devastatingly disgusting.” Harry snipped, suddenly aware of his state of technical undress. It didn’t help that Sasuke’s stare was ever so intense as if he could see behind the barrier that was the thin robe that stuck to his partially wet skin.

“It’s a wonder your sudden burst of wit. I honestly thought it beyond you, you should take baths more often,  _baby doll_.” Harry looked more like an angry hen than anything, ruffled feathers and all. Something Sasuke might have laughed at if he were so inclined. As it was he wasn’t, and Sasuke casually walked past Harry. It was as if staring at Harry in that moment, eyes that lingered, he had come to a sudden conclusion. A conclusion filled with mixed emotions but one stark truth. He was doing it again, even after he baulked at the very thought of—angry blue eyes flickered across his mind. The betrayal so bright, the sadness and unimaginable confusion for, what did _he_ understand!

“Your clothes are on the futon. Future wears, however long that may be till I deliver you to Orochimaru, as well. Wear it, or not.” Harry would admit the sudden turn in Sasuke’s attitude caught him off guard. He was strangely stiff all of a sudden, not that he should care but—

Harry watched as the man left, green eyes narrowed, trying to figure him out. Without a word, he turned to the futon whereas Sasuke had said, his clothes were. They were… practical. Dark coloured pants and soft oriental shirts with long sleeves and overlapping collar. Quite plain and easy to blend in the dark, yet not so dark that one would stand out like a sore thumb in daylight. Harry stopped short at the silk yukata he hadn’t noticed. The fact that he had missed something like that was incomprehensible. It was as plain as the rest of the clothing, standing out only for the light shimmer it gave off as Harry shifted the material.

No underwear. There was no underwear.

Harry didn’t even bother to get worked up. He was a captive, the fact he was even given clothes was more than any regular captive would expect. He silently removed his robe and slipped into the yukata, the soft silk raising goosebumps along his skin as it slid against his skin. It fluttered to his knees as he pulled the straps tight and it was then the sound of splashing water flittered to his ear.

Right, his earlier train of thought. There was something odd going on, from his journey through the veil that should have killed him yet didn’t. Then this place, a strange feeling that made his magic shy away and Haya…Haya and her odd behaviour.

He was a captive. Sasuke would deliver him to the Snake Sanin…who had an interest in his runes? Runes. It was a light bulb went off! To any regular person, the runes would gather no true interest! They didn’t visibly show power, not to someone who did not have magic. Through the grapevine when he had first been on the run he had heard the whispers that the Sanin sought him for his runes. The word rune was used  _specifically_. Did that mean the Sanin had some knowledge of magic? And if so how much? Was it enough to get back to his world?!

Through his muse, Harry had slipped underneath the covers of the futon, unaware when the movements had stopped in the bath but very much aware when Sasuke’s silent frame entered the room once more. Harry hunched underneath the sheets, listening as Sasuke silently moved around the room, closed the doors that lead to the gardens, even when he lingered for a moment. He was sure the Uchiha was without his shirt again, sure that it was only a towel that lay dangerously low on his hips.

Could almost imagine the stray droplets of water that caress the expanse of the man’s back, dip into every curve and valley—

Harry released a shuddering breath. Why did his mind stray like this! Why when there were more important things to think about!

One would think Sasuke had his guard down, intuition told another story to Harry. The futon shifted as Sasuke in an unexpected move laid on the other side of the bed. He felt those dark eyes on him again and wondered about it. Wondered about the sudden chill of his skin, or perhaps it was the sudden heat. Wondered why the bloody hell his blood seemingly rushed under his skin the more those eyes threatened to pierce through his skin! Harry found himself shifting, the silk of the yukata slipping between his thighs, a whisper on his skin stirring something that he steadfastly ignored for it made no sense.

Silence consumed them. Harry slowly turned to face the other, all manner of tense, knowing that he would probably meet those dark eyes. And wasn’t that something! Why so suddenly did he feel this way?! Hesitate to stare into the eyes of a man who from day one made his blood boil. Why was he so aware of the smell of cinnamon and—

How easily he lost his train of thought. Harry released a frustrated breath before he fully turned over, green eyes searching through the darkness as the paper lamps dimmed on their own. His glasses rested on a small table not too far from the futon.

With the tension, his held breath, what would happen when he stared into dark eyes? A snide remark, that stupid smirk, mockery—

Sasuke was on his back, left arm thrown over his eyes, right arm thrown over his…clothed chest. Steady breaths, he wasn’t staring at all. For a moment Harry wondered if it had all been in his head. Almost as if a reminder the rune on his ankle pulsed, a reminder of the wand he must fix. A reminder that he had to focus and keep focussed. His eyes lingered on what he could see of strong jawline, pale neck—

He was a captive, but he didn’t have to be. The inner Slytherin his mind whispered. He wanted to go home and a possible link was with this Snake Sanin who Sasuke had questionable loyalties for. Now, it was a matter of figuring out how to give Sasuke a reason to help him and not actually turn him over to the Sanin. He had done a jolly good job of endearing himself to the man and encouraging sympathy. No, really he had! That aside, his best bet he wagered was Haya and maybe if the odds were in his favour, Ai. After all, that was certainly an interesting conversation he had come upon. Harry couldn’t help the shadow of a smirk that played across red lips.

Closing his eyes and so lost in his own plots he hadn’t realised that those dark eyes were on him yet again. Burning dark eyes filled with conflicting emotions…slight traces of anger. Anger, but for whom?

* * *

 “And so it is, as it was always. As it always will be.” Voldemort’s whispery voice carried along the crowd of Death Eaters who watched their master fearfully. All but for one, Bellatrix Lestrange, the demented witch whose laugh would haunt many a wizards' dreams as she tortured at will, caring not for the pain and suffering she would cause. Oh, how she revelled in it; eyes wild and wide, her high pitched laughter echoing in the air.

“Master,” she crooned, both hands making to press against Voldemort’s broad back, feel the cool of his skin through the dark robes and bask in the feel of his potent magic, twisted and tainted the core. Even for her madness and declaration of obsessive love, not even she would dare such a thing. She was not worthy to touch the skin of her master, to bask in his magnificence! She licked her lips nervously, an ironic resemblance to Bartemius Crouch Junior, who watched with equal maniacal glee from the crowd. Laughter bubbled from her throat again, eyes drinking in the image of her master before the wide expanse of River Clyde.  The water raged and wrestled, sliding rocks and clashing against smooth and jagged rocks on its journey to lands both far and wide.

“They deny me. Refuse to bend to the will of what is just! What is right! I am Lord Voldemort and I will not be denied!” Voldemort spoke with much malice, lips pulled back in a snarl, his long nails digging into the scaly skin of his palm. His Death Eaters shivered at the sound of hissing snakes, eyes flickering nervously to their feet as if they expected to be swallowed by a pit of them, or Nagini, their dark Lords infamous familiar.

“My Lord, we bend to your will!” Bellatrix crooned, grin filled with sick glee as she watched Her Master hold tight to his wand. A wicked caress that would spell nothing but despair and sweet, torturous oblivion for whoever found themselves at the opposite end of it.

“With Potter dead, there is no one to stand in your way!”

“You are most powerful my lord!”

“The filthy blood traitors will fall at your feet!”

“Potter is dead! With Potter dead—” The Death Eaters simpered. A raging chorus that echoed through the mountainous range they stood. Like the hum of swarming bees, a hive that had lost its head and plunged into chaos.

“Silence!” Voldemort hissed, robes swirling around him, red eyes the incarnation of the depths of Annwn no one wished to dwell.

A pin could have dropped and the countries across the globe would have heard it. Terrible silence, stained with deep-rooted fear that made the heart race and abruptly stop. The slick of sweat at one's back and the raising of hairs on one's skin as pupils blew wide wondering if they would meet their death when that spark of a terrible red spell teased at a bone white wand.

Death. For where the Avada Kedavra spell would grant one quick death, Crucio, a torture curse that tore through every nerve ending of your body would plunge you into insanity if held long enough.

A terrible game the Dark Lord himself loved to play.

“You dare _! Harry Potter_ , he’s not—” Voldemort began, dark magic swirling like a crackling whip, cutting through the air, so heavy that one could hardly breathe. As suddenly as he faced his Death Eaters in anger he stopped. Red eyes narrowed before all emotion bled from his face and he stood as cold and shrewd as a vulture regarding its prey.

He stood tall, his wand tapping at his lips a whisper that left his followers confused carried away by the wind.

“Through the veil.” The wand stopped at his lips, red eyes seeing all, yet nothing at the same time. Silently the dark wizard turned away from his followers, red eyes trained on the raging waters of Clyde River.

“They stand to defy me, thinking themselves just.  They court death, and so death will answer their call.” Voldemort whispered a twisted smile upon terribly thin lips, his wand pointed to the flowing river. No one heard the spell that was cast, no one heard the twisting of words that would bound reality to a new vision or saw the burn of a terrible rune that sizzled at the surface of the water. What was felt was the scorching taint of decayed magic, what was seen was the raging waters suddenly stained black, a putrid smell permeating the air. The water flowed as if it was rendered oil from decayed wales, travelling to poison the waterways of many neighbouring wizarding villages.

“Master?” Bellatrix asked cautiously, for a moment sanity returning to wild eyes. She almost stepped back when Voldemort suddenly turned to her, bony fingers grasping her chin and long nails piercing her chin.

“Plague, Bellatrix, plague. Like the Muggle god, my wrath shall descend the earth as a plague. Fitting that blood traitors will fall to heel from the mockery that spawns from Muggle filth,” Bellatrix smiled a dopey smile, her hands gently caressing her master’s skin for the first time. A thumb caressed her lips and her eyes closed in wonder and soaring joy. It did not matter that her husband watched her from the surrounding crowd. What did she care! Her Lord, her precious Lord, just like the time he had taken her into his arms when Harry Potter had dared to curse her with the Cruciatus Curse.

And oh what a thrill that was! The putrid fires of hate and vengeance in green eyes. How the then boy would gladly rip her apart, torture her to insanity and back and revel in it. How he had looked to the sky, eyes glazed as he ripped the world apart for hurting his precious family.

Little monster, oh so sweet. Itty bitty baby, Potter. Bellatrix lost herself in insane laughter, raucous sounds that ripped through the air, joined by the chorus of Death Eaters.

“No trade! No food! No water! No borders crossed! Let them bask in my salvation, my mercy!” Voldemort roared, pulling away from Bellatrix, arms raised to the sky.

“Let them bask in the making of an immortal god!” The sky crackled with lightning, thunder ripping through the air the shake very foundation of the earth. The sky bled black, and through it, all the terrible pulsing red of Voldemort’s magic saturated the air.

“All hail, the Dark Lord!

“All hail his might and divine mercy!” Like prayers to a pagan god, mind-numbing chants from men with little morality. Many men filled with selfish whims.

Voldemort looked to the side where Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape should have been, a slow terrible smile twisting his lips.

“The Veil. The power he knows not, so naïve little Malfoy to take me for a fool.”

* * *

 “It has begun!” Severus Snape shouted desperately, both he and Draco bursting through double doors that banged against the wall with such force that said doors were sent hurtling back, slamming with a thunderous echo as they closed once more. Wands were drawn, spells at the tip of wizard and witches lips.

“What is he doing here?!”Remus roared, already sailing over the wide expanse of the oak table that filled the newly secured meeting room for the Order of The Phoenix. It was Petunia's living room, she with their help had prepared the room, watching as the wizards transfigured the shiny table where her furniture had once stood.

Petunia who had fallen terribly ill in light of her nephew’s fate. She withered as they spoke, hacking coughs and blood spotting her lips. Weeping for the last of what was her family.

“Murderer!” He raged, spittle flying from his lips as he snarled, the call of the moon too close for comfort for a werewolf who had lost its pack. Kingsley tackled the man to the ground, holding him in a deadlock as he wrestled Remus’ wand out of his hand. The man howled at the action, kicking and clawing as he fought to get at Draco Malfoy who watched everything in silence. Blue eyes cold and calm as ever, hardly phased by the happenings before him. All around he was judged through hostile eyes, Snape moving to shield him from said looks, unnecessary as it was.

“Remus! Contain yourself!” Dumbledore raged, having enough of the endless squabble. Remus regarded him with obvious betrayal and the beginnings of hate but did still himself.

“You said it had begun?” Dumbledore continued, eying Severus and Draco. Hoping that it was not what he thought it was. He could remember the night when Severus had revealed a truth that had made his heart soar and sink in the same breath. How Draco Malfoy as he mourned the death of his father, pushed it aside to reveal the true reality that laid bare before them.

“The Dark Lord has released the scourge.” Snape’s voice was grim and with it, terrified gasps filled the room. The scourge was an ancient runic spell crafted not by the Slytherin line, not even the Ravenclaw, but the noble line of Gryffindor. Vile black magic it was, that paid tribute to the religious plagues of the Muggle gods. The spell had wiped out nations of wizards, brought with it sickness and famine, only appeased by the blood sacrifice of innocents to the Scourge's caster.

No one knew why the Gryffindor would have crafted such a rune. Why the paragon of all that was light would create something that revelled in bloodshed and suffering.

“Then it is done! The war is lost!” Professor McGonagall spoke bitterly as she walked through the very doors that had slammed shut at Snape’s and Malfoy’s arrival. Behind her, Molly walked softly, steps heavy and filled with so much pain as she held a bloody cloth to her chest.

“Petunia, she has passed.” The witch whispered. The Order looked away at the revelation. The silence was interwoven with dread for the future to come.

“It’s not a loss, not if it works,” Draco spoke up, not a flinch when he was suddenly pinned in place with steely eyes.

“What nonsense you speak, boy!” Mad-eye raged. The bitter taste of defeat made him sick! Had they come so far the simply bow their heads like whimpering fools?! Pandering to the plight of Death Eaters, his eyes flickered to Snape and those of their ilk, eye trained on the Malfoy heir.

“It’s a wonder he speaks at all! He should be dead for what he did!” Remus shouted, the stirring of his wolf underneath the surface.

“A wonder for your continued existence then,  _wolf_. After all, it was you who slayed man, woman and child in an act of war. For greater good isn’t it?" Draco drawled. Remus would have lunged again, as it was Dumbledore took control of an otherwise unsalvageable situation.

“Harry Potter. He is not dead.” The deathly silence that took over was suffocating. Feral eyes of a raging wolf left in shock, breaths stopped, confusion and denial climbing to the surface and willing to burst like an overdue volcano that had fought the end of time for so long.

“W—what?” It was Molly who broke the silence. Her voice a shuddering helpless breath as the world spun around her and the pit of her stomach felt sick. She sank to the floor, unsteady seemingly unable to comprehend what Dumbledore had said.

“It’s as he said, Harry James Potter is not dead.” Draco’s voice was cold, but even then all the implications lay bare in his voice. His own limbs trembled a weight that was so heavy settling on his shoulders as one by one the Order looked to him.

“What?” Remus whispered.

Echoing whisper.


	8. Distractions within Revelations

 

 

> **TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER  CONTAINS REFERENCE TO FACETS OF WAR. THIS INCLUDE THE DEATH OF CHILDREN, DESCRIPTION OF BLOOD , MURDER AND CRUELTY.**
> 
> * * *
> 
>  
> 
> _**"With the staff that is in my hands I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.”(1)** _

A woman and her young child amble about the river on the outskirts of their small wizarding village. It was one of the few villages that existed that was completely separated from Muggle civilization.

“Anat! Don’t stray too close to the river, love!” The woman gently reprimanded, a broad smile on her face as she watched her daughter frolic about the river banks.

It was a lovely day. A lovely evening wind, and the ripple of clear water.

So suddenly a terrible scream pierced through the air!

“Mama!” Anat screamed terrified and bleached white from the fear. Around her, the water bled to a deep red almost black! Fish slowly bubbled to the surface and a putrid scent filled the air.

Overhead the sky had faded to black and thunder sounded ominous.

The river had turned to blood.

“By the gods!” The woman gasped in horror, falling to her knees. Her basket fell from her hands and rolled towards the village roads to land softly in the centre of the road.

* * *

 

The air was much too heavy. One could feel as breath left one's lung and parched lips, as sweat beaded against skin and one was almost fooled to believe the gentle hum of a Muggle fan filled the room. As it was, the fan was still, blades covered in a light coat of dust for how much attention it had been given over the months.

“Alive?” The words rushed out of Remus’ lips. A shaky whisper, as his limbs trembled and the air left his lung like a man who had wasted away in the lone desert searching for water. The man looked dazed, his amber eyes fading to the rich brown of that kind man that was very much a part of his being. The professor that was very knowledgeable and struggled to make a life for himself due to his lycanthropy. The man that Harry, even at the age of 21 years would still hug tightly, wide green eyes showing true joy for the family he still had.

“If this is some scheme—” Remus began, his voice holding the underlying growl of the wolf that resided in his soul. A temperamental creature that knew nothing more than pain, suffering and overflowing anger through no fault of its own.

“No trick. No scheme. Harry Potter  _is_  alive.” Draco interrupted before the man could lose himself in needless anger. Or perhaps it was not so needles, after all, Harry Potter was like a son to the man, the only thing left of James Potter.

“There is no other option. He must be! We made sure of it.” Draco spoke with conviction, memories of sleepless nights and guilty looks. Of angered shouts and desperate kisses shared in the dead of night as the lone candlelight faded to darkness.

“We? Speak clear, boy!” Mad-eye hobbled forward, his swirling eye a menacing image as it spun in his head and pinned Draco Malfoy in place. The blonde was not afraid, he was more angry than afraid! These people acted holier than thou! As if they knew anything! They thought themselves the only thing standing between wizarding Britain and the Dark Lord! What fools they were!

“Perhaps, you would better understand if one would just listen. Though perhaps such a task is quite beyond you.” Snape drawled, smoothly moving to stand beside his godson, daring any to so much as to attack or utter another word. Draco was thankful for the show of support, but honestly, he was beyond the days where he needed someone to hold his hand. There was no room for such mentality. Not with war raging, not with their hope held by just a tiny thread.

“You think you’re so untouchable, Snape! Mark my word, the day you show yourself for the true snake that you are it will be the sharp tip of my wand you will face!” Mad-eye spat as he gruffly pulled the lapels of his robes, barely resisting the need to pull his wand and show the Death Eater just what he thought of him! He could not understand why a man like Dumbledore would trust something like Severus Snape! He could only imagine how many good wizards had fallen by the man’s wand! How he scraped and grovelled at You-Know-Who’s feet like the slobbering dog he was!

It was disgusting, and Merlin he hoped Dumbledore would see the errors of his ways! There were more trustworthy spies for however trustworthy a spy could actually be!

“We will get nowhere with endless squabbles! Men, women, please. Let him speak, you will find that the answers that elude us are within sight if childish actions are left by the wayside.” Dumbledore glared, watching as Mad-eye grudgingly took a step back.

“Please, w-what did you mean, Draco?” Draco flinched at the sudden touch, looking to the side to see Molly Weasley, her brown eyes pleading and filled with so much hope. Her hand gently grasped at the sleeves of his robes, and for a moment he felt the world stop.

How could this woman, the matriarch of a family which had a blood feud with his own look at him without hate or disdain? How could she touch him and not flinch, look into his eyes with kind brown eyes as if she had no doubt the words uttered from his lips would be the truth. Speak his name so softly and with hope, as if for once he would be the bearer of good news and new hope. Draco would have staggered back with the sudden weight of that trust placed in him. How did Harry Potter deal with such responsibility when their entire world looked to him for the answers? So overwhelmed he was, for the first time he found himself tongue-tied and unable to utter a word.

To think that he in his foolish youth had looked down at this woman for her humble station. A family that had fallen from grace years before his birth and were contented with it.

“You said Harry was alive, explain…please.” The please was awkwardly tacked on. Changing a demand in a reluctant plea. It was Kingsley who asked, placing a comforting hand on Remus’ thin shoulders.

Draco finally looked away from Molly, gently prying her hand away from his robe. The woman squeezed his hand in a silent show of support, and again he found himself at a loss in light of a woman with so much capacity for kindness and love.

“Mr Malfoy, if you will.” Dumbledore pushed on. There was no telling how long the peace within the room would last. They had no time to waste, everything must be put in the open for if what Voldemort had unleashed was—

“Four years ago, before the attack of Hogwarts, no even before then, I grew disillusioned with the Dark Lord’s will.” Draco began a hush of silence taking over the room as gained the attention of all the Order members.

“Being truthful I wasn’t given a choice when young what ideals I would follow and when I was old enough it seemed too late…until, until her.” His sentence trailed off into barely audible whispered, blue eyes flickering to the single window lost in his own thoughts. It was a wonder if he truly realized what he had revealed at the end of such a simple sentence, the questions it raised.

“When the Dark Lord had laid siege to Hogwarts, it was just too much. What benevolent leader would watch children die to further his ideals? What monster would twist magic to such a state that—”

“I’d had enough, I wanted to do something! Anything to redeem myself from the path I took. That’s when I met her in the department of mysteries, how she got there I couldn’t tell but she was so deep in her research. The veil her new project. One that held so many hopes and dreams —”

* * *

 **Four Years ago**

Draco screamed into his fist, furious tears streaming down his face as he curled himself into a ball in a shadowed corner. Around him, dust fell in waves as the castle’s walls shook. As Hogwarts trembled and broke apart as she bore the brunt of the Dark Lord’s assault. Shouts of fright, ear-splitting screams, and thundering footsteps were much too loud. They echoed for miles on end only to be pierced by maniacal laughter that stripped the life from one’s soul.

“For as long as I live, she will not fall! I will allow no such thing!” Dumbledore’s aged voice roared. It was like the heavens were set aflame, lightning crackling through the air as magic wailed. Heaven, it was what the muggles called it he thought. For just a moment, fear choking the life from his body, his spine bent in fear as the world shook around him, he thought he would like to see it.

This heaven.

Opposing magic ragged, burning the very air he breathed! Like a castle of glass the powerful shield weaved by wizard and witch alike to protect their children, protect the memories and life that Hogwarts represented shattered.

All who stood were pushed to the ground, waves of sickening black magic weaving web of depravity and wickedness as it tore through the heart of Hogwarts. A wave of Death Eaters flooded the grounds, acrid spells let loose from crooked wands, man woman child falling to their deaths in oceans of crimson red. Draco felt the weight of his cowardice settle in his throat. This was the path he had chosen! This what he had ultimately chosen, and now innocence would suffer for he could not lift a wand to protect. Could not run charging into battle like Potter did below.

Trembling, he staggered to his feet. Every step unstable as he peered out at the courtyard where war ragged. Bile rushed to his mouth! His stomach lurched as he heaved at the sight before him. The putrid stench of burning flesh, blood black and vile that seeped through the cracks of broken cobbled stones.

The lifeless bodies of young children too weak to protect themselves their eyes were blown wide and their mouths twisted in terrible agony.

Among them, Harry Potter stood. Blood painted pale skin, emerald eyes raging furnace as his hair blew wildly around him. An avenging spectre that stood over the lives of innocence seemingly sacrificed at his feet. A mockery meant to pull from him the monster that dwelled within.

Draco swallowed when slowly those cold green eyes looked away from the sight that had held his gaze steadfast. Watched as those green eyes slowly looked up at him, and in that moment condemn him for his cowardice. How they easily slid off his form, a clear dismissal as he glided over bodies as if they were not there.

His black robes fluttered around him and as if in reverence to long-lost deity the crowds parted as his followers looked on with awe and fear. His sickeningly black wand was held loose in his hand, and as he slowly pointed said wand at the multitude of Death Eaters that still invaded the sanctuary whispered words caressing his lips.

_Tu velim mortem._

Draco watched in horror as black smoke curled for Potter’s wand. How the smoke twisted around those viewed as enemies. The tortured screams that pierced through the air as they tore each other apart. Slave to a will that was not their own as they soaked the earth with rank blood. How flesh fell from bones and Harry Potter—

Harry Potter watched with a smile on his face.

Draco looked away, not before he watched Remus tackle Harry to the floor. Not before he watched the man scream his throat raw to wake Harry from the terrible trance he had fallen into.

Not before he watched the horror that slowly bled into the wizard’s being and as he flinched from the fearful eyes that now regarded him even though he had saved them for some time yet. The fear in Hermione’s eyes, her cheeks stained with grime, her bushy hair slick against her neck.

Ron who seemed so mournful. Full of fright, but it was a fright for his dear friend.

Flinched away from the disappointed gaze of Dumbledore, the twinkle in his eyes no more.

Draco ran.

He ran as far as his legs could take him, the dark mark burning his skin as his master raged for being foiled one more time. Ran from those terrible green eyes and much too beautiful smile stained with blood.

* * *

 

“This! It must be this!” Draco quickly hid among the aisles of the department of mysteries as a soft voice echoed. He could hear as aged old pages were quickly swept through. How the parchment crinkled before someone nervously tried to smother out the almost certainly formed creases.

He slowly peered around the isles to see a woman sat before the veil. Her thick hair pooling over her shoulders as she frantically scored through finely written words on severely damaged parchment. Her robes pooled around her, and even then Draco could see that her legs were folded under her.

“Tu velim mortem. It is said these words were spoken by Godric Gryffindor himself. An ancient spell crafted by his line, originating from a world that many knew not—” The woman whispered, her fingers twitching in excitement. Draco could not understand how the woman could so casually sit before the veil, an artefact no man understood. One that had claimed the lives of so many, including his would-be cousin Sirius Black. The man who though touched by the mark of insanity as so many Blacks were, who played the part of a father to Harry Potter when he could.

Suddenly the woman spun around, wild hair flying about her as she pointed her wand in his direction. The tip glowed an ominous green, and for a moment he wondered if she would let loose the killing curse.

“I know you’re there!” She hissed, brown eyes searching frantically, books and parchments clutched tightly under her arm. Behind her the veil whispered, the sound of lost souls crying out. It was as if the woman did not hear, or even care; refusing to lower her wand.

Draco mulled it over in his head for an agonizing second before he slowly revealed himself. The heel of his leather shoe echoing in the room that was absent from anyone else but them.  The beautiful moon glowed from the glass ceiling, casting them both in an eerie glow. Draco slowly held up his hands in a sign of peace as he stepped forward once more, watching how the woman’s mouth was pulled into a thin line. She dared him to take another step forward, to try her! For she would not hesitate to strike him down!

This…

This was what war had done to them. A paragon of light would now not hesitate to kill. A mockery of the dark now feared his own shadow.

Hermione Granger. Was she always this beautiful?

“Malfoy. Having fun licking the boots of your precious, Master? Or are you yet to be satisfied. Am I to be the next offering to your god, so lost you are to his beguile.” Hermione’s voice was steady and strong. Even as words were nothing but a whisper and brown eyes seemingly pierced through his tainted soul.

“The same could be said of you. You have danced to the tune of Dumbledore from the moment you stepped into the wizarding world. A man that could do no wrong in your eyes.” Blue eyes dared her to deny. Hermione did not oblige him, her wand slowly lowered as she turned her back to him.

What he said may have been right at one point in her life. As it was, she had grown out of childish thoughts and ideals. The words worked to prove that it was truly Draco Malfoy that stood behind her and not an imposter. The sigh of relief she released was barely audible as her tight grip on her wand was loosened.

“You came.” She finally whispered, not a flinch as Draco Malfoy quietly moved to stand beside her. They both stared at the veil in silence, before Draco Malfoy slowly held out a vial engraved with strange runes neither could decipher

“This is the only way that I can atone. Save this pitiful world, even if it is by helping Potter as much as I detest him.” Draco spoke softly, his deep voice filled with so many emotions that Hermione couldn’t hope to comprehend. Not that she wished such a thing. Idle thoughts were never something she could entertain.

“The magical essence of Godric Gryffindor, as requested. A steep price to pay, but a price nevertheless paid in full.” Draco flinched when at her sudden gentle touch, how her slim fingers curled around his own. He dared to look into her brown eyes, then to her lips that he remembered were so soft.

They had fallen into bed once.

Desperate kisses filled with hate and yet so much more as they lost themselves. The building frustration as war raged and he thrust within her. How she hardly made a sound but harsh gasps and biting nails for they both knew this was nothing truly. She wanted to help her friend, he wanted redemption and that was it in the end.

“I will not thank you,” Hermione whispered, even as she had yet to let go of his hand. It seemed she would say more, wanted to say more, for how her touch lingered. For how she nervously bit her lips and her wild hair fell over her shoulder

“I did not expect you to, nor would I have accepted it.” Before he could say more, they were both interrupted by quickly approaching footsteps. It was Ron Weasely, eyes wild as he burst through sealed doors.

“If you’re going to do it, then you better do it now!” He shouted, stopping short when he saw how close the two were. When had they drifted so close? Close that the edges of their robes touched and their shadows mingled.

Ron watched the two suspiciously even as they stepped away from each other, the vial held close in Hermione’s palm. The strange air between Hermione and Draco left a bitter taste in his mouth. He didn’t understand it but…it felt like the moment he had closed his eyes, he had lost Hermione to someone else.

“Harry, he’s slipped into one of those trances again! He almost killed Wormtail…not that it would be too much of a loss.” Ron muttered. He didn’t like this plan Hermione had come up with. Who was to tell that she wasn’t wrong and that she would plummet to her—

“Then shall we?” She wasted no time as she uncorked the vial and without fanfare poured three drops on her tongue. She passed it to Ron who hesitated for only a second before following suit. They both felt as the essence coursed through their veins like ice. A terrible burn as it found them unworthy though bending to their will because of the runes carved into their backs.

They fought the tortured screams, even as their backs bend in pain and their skin felt as if it was slowly being torn from their skins.

Unworthy!

They were unworthy but their will would be done. Though not because they wished it. Neither of them knew this of course.

The veil seemingly came to life then. Pulsing with raw magic, causing Draco Malfoy to stumble back. Hermione did not flinch, neither did Ron as he suddenly curled his larger hands around her own.

“The amulet I’ve given you will tell you if we still live. I’ll be able to send you a one-way signal if I’ve found what I’m looking for. It will be your duty to push Harry through the veil should that time come.” Hermione briefly spared Draco a looked even as both she and Ron walked slowly to the pulsing veil.

“If the time does not come…then assume us dead and that I was wrong.” She did spare him no smile to ease his nerves or sudden feelings of dread. She really said nothing else. Leaving him behind to watch as both she and Ron, hands linked and held tight, fell through the veil with ease. Voices whispered like harsh chants, a strange wind passing throughout the room before the veil grew silent.

It was as if no one had ever been there.  Draco swallowed tightly before he gripped the very amulet she spoke of, the weight heavy in his pockets.

* * *

 **Present Time**

“Almost everyone knows the prophecy. And he will have the power he knows not. That power is not  _love_ , it’s far from it actually.” Draco sneered at the very thought before he finally looked up at the Order.

“Hermione found ancient scrolls with much detail about Gryffindor lures. The family spoke of a prophecy that would come to pass. The very same that was uttered from Trelawney’s lips. There was more though, they spoke of the heir finding the power to defeat that which would mock their legacy.”

“This makes no sense! None of this makes sense!” Tonks, who had remained silent for the most part and almost invisible in the room finally spoke up. She was bloody confused! It was too much information and too little at the same time.

 Hermione jumped through the veil? What?! She and Ron… and Harry was purposely thrown through the veil, not because of Voldemort’s orders but because Hermione said so? Hermione who was in the veil?

What?

Draco blew out an air of frustration. He furiously carded his hands through his blonde hair before chancing a glance at his Godfather. Snape was as stoic as ever, but Draco somehow he still drew strength from his presence.

“What many people do not know, is that the veil is not just an artefact. Its origin is mostly obscure but one fact remains rather clear. It is something that belonged and perhaps was created by the Gryffindor line…just as the scourge was.” Dumbledore muttered, threading his frail hand through his long beard as he stared into the distance. He could imagine how slowly the waters of the Wizarding world must have bled into corruption. How soon the scourge, would become quite evident and their people would face its full wrath.

“Hermione the brilliant witch she was knew this and grew fascinated with the fact that the moment Harry had begun to fall into his strange trance the veil pulsed with new life. Is that right, young Draco?” Dumbledore turned to face the rather grim young man. Oh, what a life he lived and at such a young age.

The thought brought memories of Harry who never much smiled. Mouth set in grim line when left to his own devices. The weight of the world on his shoulders with not one person that truly understood his plight in life.

“The veil is a doorway to another world. One that lies parallel with our own. It is where the Gryffindor line originated.” Draco replied in answer. It, of course, gained sceptical scoffs, something many of the Order was ready to dismiss. Strangely it was Remus who for the most part had been quite volatile that seemed willing to listen.

“Then we can retrieve him? We can get Harry back…and Ron and Hermione.” Remus tacked on as he looked over at the hopeful Weasley matriarch. It was then that he remembered that Arthur Weasely was dead, had been for some time now. Stolen by disease instead of the war. A sudden end to a brilliant man.

“No. They will have to return on their own. In truth, it is Potter who must bring them back to the other side. He, after all, is the only one of Gryffindor blood.” Snape finally spoke, unwavering as brown eyes calmly searched his own.

“This still explains nothing and I grow tired of this useless drivel!” Mad-eye glared. He had had enough! He wanted answers! Straight answers!

“Harry’s trances. Where he seemingly lost himself to something so dark and terrifying.  _Tu velim mortem_ so often uttered from his lips like a prayer, the veil the prophecy and at the centre of it all the Gryffindor line. Think, Mad-eye! You are no fool!” Snape snapped, his patience worn thin by the man’s bullheadedness.

“The power he knows not. Harry had to go through the veil because that’s where that power is. Hermione went through first to confirm the theory and then…you pushed Harry through because it was confirmed.” Mrs Weasley looked up at Draco Malfoy with troubled conflicted eyes.

“Then you say only Harry can bring them back because he is of Gryffindor blood. Implying only a blood Gryffindor could pass through the veil without issue—”

“Sometimes I forget that the woman should have been a Ravenclaw,” Kingsley muttered to Remus. Getting the barest of a smile before the man’s attention was stolen again. Kinsley breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed in all but a few hours, Remus was returning to his calm collected self, instead of a man ruled by his wolf’s anger.

“It stands to question how, did my son and Hermione pass through in the first place? And how do you know they still live and did not perish like so many before them.” Mrs Weasley’s tone brooked no argument. It was almost as sharp as Professor McGonagall who had opted to watch silently and observe.

“I procured Gryffindor’s essence. A trace of Godric Gryffindor’s magic that leached into the earth when he ultimately died and his body cremated. Upon consuming it, Hermione was able to fool the veil and it allowed her passage into the parallel world.” Draco finally spoke up.

“I know she lives because of this.” He held up the amulet she had given him. It pulsed with three magical signatures. Hermione’s, Ron’s and finally Harry and addition to the amulet Draco observed days after said wizard was pushed through the veil.

“Well, I’ll be...” Draco knew not who said it. He didn’t care, the fact remained he had proof that the trio was alive. What he failed to reveal is that he in truth did not know if they were in fact of good health. He only hoped, and begged whichever deity listen that they were fine. Begged that Hermione did find the power the Dark Lord knew not and that ultimately Harry himself would bring it back across the veil. That he would return with Hermione safe and sound, and this war would end upon his return.

The nightmare would finally end.

“To fulfil the prophecy and put an end to Voldemort’s stain, Harry was taken from us. This is a test of strength and perseverance. The fates are often so cruel.” Dumbledore gave a sad smile as he watched the startling amethyst and crimson that represented Harry’s magical signature pulse with fervour.

“What we must do is keep steadfast and strong. Hold Voldemort at bay as we fight not only him but the effects of the Scourge that will be upon us.  The mockery of their Legacy. For the heir of Slytherin now wields a power the Gryffindor line had created.” Dumbledore finally looked at the grim faces of all those gathered. To be told there was nothing to be done but await Harry’s return was a bitter pill to swallow. Much too bitter, he thought as he observed Remus’ and Molly’s trembling shoulders and clenched fist. Watched as Draco stared endlessly at the pulsing amber glow that represented Hermione’s magical signature.

“Come now, we have a funeral to prepare. Dare Petunia, it’s a shame that she could not win her fight with grief. Most terrible that such grief may have been unfounded in the end. Or is it?” Dumbledore seemingly whispered to himself as he left the rooms, robes trailing along the floor. The colours oddly subdued and dreary compared to the bright colours he once downed.

The Order took that as their cue to leave. Tonks lingering behind for a moment as she looked on with pity as Remus finally slumped in a chair Kingsley had provided. She left, she knew he did not need her pity and any words that would leave her lips would be false platitudes.

Draco made to leave himself, only stopped by Remus’s soft voice.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Empty words. They meant nothing. Just the utterance of a mind filled with guilt as anger faded. A man that did not know what to feel knowing that his family, Harry, was alive.

“Spare me your pity and false pretence. I have no use for it.” Draco drawled leaving as quickly as he had come, Snape carefully following behind.

“Congratulations. Potter is alive and will hopefully save us all. He only had to slowly become the monster when you looked away. A testament to Lucius Malfoy, now scattered ashes upon the wind.” Snape meant for it to hurt. Even if he didn’t truly see Harry as a monster. What the boy, now man went through— his trances, they were no fault of his.  Remus, though, how dare he express condolences when not moments ago he had spat vitriol at Draco’s feet. Had vilified him in his grief.

Remus flinched at the words. They were not true, yet…he couldn’t help the crippling guilt that filled him.

Snape said nothing else as he stepped out of the room, billowing robes and all but silent footsteps.

“My son is alive. Harry and Hermione, alive. Perhaps there is some hope to be had after all,” Molly whispered softly as she gently patted Remus’ shoulder.

She too left, leaving Kingsley and Remus to their own devices. She needed her rest. So much had happened in the blink of an eye.

“Harry is alive. Harry is alive, Kingsley.” Remus' voice cracked as he finally succumbed to emotions. Loud sobs filling the room as he crumbled into himself. Tears flowing like hot lava down his cheeks, and his nails biting into his thigh.

“Harry is alive.”

* * *

 Sasuke stared up at the ceiling, hands folded behind his head. It would be a lie to say he had moved an inch during the night and the break of dawn. He was much too aware of his surroundings. Had always been. Ever since the murder of his clan by his brother’s hand and every moment thereafter. There wasn’t a moment that he could claim true peace, and perhaps for many, that was a sentiment worth pity.

Beside him, the sheets shuffled. The slow drag of silk against cotton and the twisting of long limbs as a soft sigh escaped the man that lay beside him. Sasuke was tempted to look. To wonder at the fact that one that should consider him enemy could sleep so soundly. He couldn’t help the small upturn of his lip as he finally moved, his hand raised to caress the ray of twisting ray of sunlight that filtered through ajar shoji doors.

The shimmering golden light slipped through his fingers. Ever so elusive and playful as it kissed his pale skin. It reminded him of the times when everything was different. How he a child with rosy cheeks and a broad smile missing a tooth or two would stumble out of bed. His hair would be mussed and his mother would suddenly enter his room with her indulgent smile. The sunlight would playfully peek through his room window like it did now and his mother would laugh when he would jump around the room. A desperate attempt to catch the pretty light that visited him every morning.

Harry shuffled beside him again, another almost inaudible gasp and words slipping from his lips. He didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was the light chirping of birds outside the garden or the trickle of water in the koi pond. It could even be the gentle whisper of the wind that brought with it the memories of his beloved mother. Whatever it was had caused him to finally look at the man who rested beside him.

He had been wrong. Harry did not rest soundly beside him.

Sasuke gazed at his sleeping visage. Watched how inky black hair flittered across a delicate face. Long eyelashes fluttering but never revealing the startling green of the man’s eyes. His skin seemed to glow in the morning light, dewy and pale except for the soft flush of pink that painted his cheeks. He didn’t realize it, but he had somehow moved. Hand outstretched and his fingers hovering over soft pale cheeks.

A hairs breath away.

He could feel the warmth radiating from Harry’s skin. A strangely held breath as he allowed himself to be entranced by the feeling. Without thought, he gently touched soft cheeks. The skin supple and smooth under his touch, even as he unconsciously trailed the tip of his fingers down to pouty red lips. There was a strange tenseness within his chest.  Not overly noticeable, but very much there.

He didn’t even think when he parted those soft lips with his thumb, dark eyes cataloguing ever soft breath and gentle sigh. Those long eyelashes fluttered again but remained closed. Yet he imagined how they would slowly open and look to him in confusion. How the simple silk of Harry’s yukata would slip from his shoulders, a whisper along his skin. That dewy skin would make itself known then, the more that silk slipped. A racing pulse that he would trace with his fingertips.

The screech of a crow jarred Sasuke out of his thoughts. He wouldn’t admit it, but he had jumped slightly, throat dry as Dark eyes quickly flickered back to Harry. He almost expected the man to be awake. To catch him in the act of…

The act of what?

Sasuke frowned at his actions, staring at his own pale hand in almost anger as he quickly pulled his hand away. What the hell had he been thinking! He had never been one to act so recklessly!

Without solid thought even!

 It was…this strange development was equal parts foreboding and irritating.

As irritating as the man who slept so soundly in the presence of his enemy. Sasuke watched as Harry’s brows knitted together, how red lips turned down in a frown. It only irritated Sasuke further to know that in a split second he had thought to gently trace those brows till they were at ease once more. Or better yet, wake the man up and watch those brows crease in anger because he found the very act amusing. Sasuke glared at no one in particular as he abruptly sat up on the futon. The very crow that had baulked at him for his actions watching him with beady eyes. Without prompting it fluttered off with an indignant squawk, the quick beating of wings echoing for a moment before it so easily faded on the wind. Instead, as Sasuke carded his hand through his hair, already moving to remove the shirt he had down the night before, the choir of the wind and surrounding trees sang to him.

Peace. Ironic, for he was always of the thought that there would be no peace for a man like him.

“Sasuke-sama?” It was Ai he could tell. Her voice though often times soft was very distinct. It always had the touch of longing he wished he would never recognise. Being oblivious like Naruto had been would have better worked in his favour. He could carry on in the world in no way mindful of the thoughts of those around him.

“Sasuke-sama, it’s the break of dawn—I mean you must know of course—but, would you join me—us—for breakfast?” The woman stumbled over her words and honestly, it only worked to irritate him. He was about to answer when Harry suddenly shifted behind him, muttering under his breath. Sasuke chanced a glance behind him and almost snorted at the image. Harry had flung the sheets off his body, said sheets barely clinging to his thighs before he fought it off in irritation.

Just as quickly Sasuke could feel his amusement fade and a heavyweight settles in his chest.

Long pale legs.

Smooth dewy thighs that seemingly glowed as the sun traced slow patterns to where delicate silk slipped between the crease of his thigh. Sasuke couldn’t even begin to explain why he had moved an inch closer. Or why his hand hovered over the teasing curve that was Harry’s ass. It was too much and not enough in equal parts when the hyper-awareness set in. The awakening of feelings he had left buried and also ignored the first moment he had ever set eyes on the spitfire of a man.

Back then, that very first meeting he had felt his chakra stir like it had done once before. It had seemingly reached out like a beacon, straining to curl around…

He couldn’t even explain it, but he knew it had everything to do with this strange infuriating man.

Infuriatingly beautiful.

With more force than necessary Sasuke flung the sheets over Harry’s body, before leaving the futon completely.

“Sasuke-sama?” Ai asked. Perhaps wondering why Sasuke had yet to answer her.

“I will eat alone.” His voice was terribly cold and laced with anger. He was positive Ai had picked up on it and was both disappointed and angry herself.

“Of course, Sasuke-sama.” Her tone was stiff and maybe a bit hurt, but regardless she silently walked away, her footsteps echoing down what would be a mostly deserted hallway.

Sasuke didn’t have it in him to be ashamed, eyes keeping clear from the futon Harry lay. Without a word, he made his way to the bathhouse, an aura of gloom and inner turmoil about him.

Distractions.

He had never been fond of them.

If he had looked back, he would have seen that throughout his internal struggle, deep green eyes watched silently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1)- Biblical reference.
> 
> I am finally back after getting my laptop back today! Some of you might have seen my struggle when on Tumblr how I mourned writing those small fics on my phone because I couldn't write for CROSS.  
> It, of course, showed when I managed 6401 words for this chap and had to seriously stop myself with much restraint. The chap would have been mega huge otherwise!  
> Anyway, please please comment. I would really really appreciate it! This chapter was a bit of a battle with me and my mind.  
> I can say for a fact that for once it was the tiniest bit stressing.  
> Thank you so much for all your support and see you next chap!  
> ^_^


	9. Fool me once shame on you

Laboured breaths echoed. Even as the scenery faded into a muddled blur. Trees becoming grotesque shadows and shapes that would strike the fear of any deity in a man’s heart.

Naruto ducked under a sweeping limb, feet skidding in the dirt was slowly turning to mud. A terribly loud sound as stones were sent flying and the skin of his elbows was tore. He didn’t register the sting already on his feet again, not a stumble as he increased his speed and the rain beat accusingly against his neck.

Lightning tore throw the sky, heating tree branches that screamed in pain, smoke curling in the air before they fell lifelessly in Naruto’s path. He dodged like he always did, smoothly twisting his body before leaping into the trees.

It was dangerous. Being in the trees when a thunderstorm raged. But what choice did he have when he was being hunted. His back was slick with sweat, ears trained for any suspicious sound and finding none. He didn’t stop moving though. He couldn’t stop moving.

This must be how it felt. A predator hunting prey. The only thing wrong with that image was that he was no prey. He was a predator himself. A predator pursued by another that was relentless and had tracked him for days.

Quakes shook the earth, and perhaps if he had been his younger self he would have slipped. Would have lost his ground and would be sent tumbling to the cold forest floor where he would no doubt be captured. As it was, he remained in form, listening as another quake shook the earth and the trees groaned in frustration.

Sakura was engaged in battle then. That meant Shikamaru was with her providing support on the sidelines as she took on her enemy herself. Kiba was on route to Konoha, he had to let Tsunade know that they were under attack from the Akatsuki since any message they sent had been intercepted.  Or at least appeared so. That meant it was only Itachi that chased him with gaining speed.

The wind howled in his ear as he led the Uchiha traitor, the first one Naruto’s mind supplied further away from his partner. Steel cut through the air! If Naruto had been any slower maybe the shuriken would have slit his throat! He didn’t have time to think! A barrage was sent his way, every dodge, every close call saw a torrent more raining from the sky. And through all this Itachi Uchiha grew closer!

A barrage was sent his way, every dodge, every close call saw a torrent more raining from the sky. And through all this Itachi Uchiha grew closer!

Naruto could taste it in the air. The moment the traitor would catch up to him, even as he readied his kunai and flipped off unsettled trees, explosive seals sailing from his hand and exploding in waves of fire and debris.

Naruto landed silently. Crouched over as blue eyes frantically searched through the thick plumage of smoke that burned his throat and left it sore. He could have been fooled to believe that the explosive tags had met their target.

He wasn’t a fool!

Fast! Terribly fast! A blade cut through the smoke with precision, the metal glittering in what little light the lightning above provided. Gritting his teeth at the force Naruto blocked it, pushing back with an upward swing. Metal against metal screeching in his ear.

“Finally revealing yourself, coward!” He spat. Twirling on the ball of his feet to block another strike coming from his right. No, it was coming from his left! Naruto cursed as he arched his back, flipping over, the blade sang through the air as it cut a few strands of his blonde locks.

He didn’t stop to judge it, or even contemplate.

There wasn’t any time for that.

The Uchiha was still coming! Naruto would sooner lick the bottom of Jiraiya’s old shoe than to die at the hands of a madman.

Panting breaths and kunai held tight he blocked blow after blow. Sparks flying even as he frantically formed half seals with his hands. Shadow clones silently materializing and joining the fight.

He wouldn’t lose. He couldn’t! Not when Itachi stood in the way of finding Sasuke. Of bringing his best friend home where he belonged.

With a mighty roar, his kunai cut through the thin blade that had led the attack against him! Even if he couldn’t see through the smoke he could hear when Itachi stumbled. Lost his momentum for a moment!

It was all he needed!

He charged through the smoke, his clones surrounding the Uchiha as he pushed forward.

Kunai cut through supple skin! Something wet splattering against the ground and his wrist. Something that wasn’t rain. At least that’s what he had thought! The tell-tale sound of a clone dispelling was all it took for him to realize he had been fooled!

Naruto cursed, kunai held tight, feet spread wide apart as he readied himself for another attack. Itachi was still here! That much he could tell with the chakra though skilfully hidden, calling to him like a beacon. Not much could get past the Kyuubi when the fox found it necessary to lend his aid.

Naruto heard Sakura’s roar of rage in the distance! Heard her curse at Kisame, and more likely follow up said curse with a wild attack. Shikamaru barking at her to remain focused. To not fall into the enemies trap!

But weren’t they already? Naruto scowled at the thought. The smoke took forever to clear. Acting more like mist than anything else as rain poured down from the sky and left his clothes waterlogged. Left his body feeling heavy and stiff, vein when his pulse beat furiously against the skin of his neck.

He licked his lips nervously. Breath so short and shallow, that his chest hurt.

Where the hell was the Uchiha?

“Try above you,” Naruto flinched at the smooth voice that was seemingly void of emotion. Blue eyes flickering up the shadowed branches above where the Uchiha casually leaned against the aged forest trees. Like that, the man reminded him of Sasuke. The ease with which he carried himself confidently. How dark eyes looked down at him and judged, seemingly judged because you couldn’t quite tell with those dark eyes.

Naruto wondered if Sasuke would like this now. At 23, he had changed a lot he could only imagine what his best friend would look like. Would he be beautiful in the way Itachi was? Smooth pale skin, bone straight raven hair with that delicate look about him. As if he would never hurt a fly until the very moment he was plucking the wings agonizingly slow from its back. Or would he be much different? Still beautiful, but with no mistake of the danger that was his form. No deceit, no games. Just solid confidence that among men he was the monster grown men wept at night about.

“You’ve grown. I dare say maybe you stand the smallest chance against him  _if_ you do find him,” Itachi’s voice was as soft and deep as it always was. Even as he gracefully fell from the trees above, landing silently on his feet, his katana sealed away in his wrist.

“ _When_  I find him.” Naruto glared. The battle in the distance was strangely silent he realized. All that could be heard was the whistling of the wind and the downpour of rain as thunder rumbled. It only served to heighten his awareness around Itachi. One wrong move, acting before thinking, all of this could spell trouble for him. He was not arrogant enough to believe himself above capture.

“When? Tell me, Naruto, why do you hunt after my brother with such fervour.” Itachi stepped forward, grass pressed under his shoe as his eyes glowed an ominous red. The Sharingan, beautiful, temptingly beautiful as it bid you give your life away to its master.

“What right do you have to call him brother?!” Naruto was angry. How dare this man speak so familiar about the man he had tortured? The man he had taken so much from! The one that abandoned Sasuke.

The one that abandoned Sasuke.

“The same right as you dare to call him friend,” Itachi responded easily, Sharingan fading from his eyes as he took another step forward. He could see that Naruto was ready to attack. Would attack if he came any further, and perhaps would not hesitate to kill him.

If he could.

“We’re nothing—” Naruto spat. Itachi was more than mad to even think to associate his love for Sasuke as being the same he claimed to have for his brother! It was far from it! This man was the source of Sasuke’s pain, it’s why he ran from the village. It was why no matter what he would have to drag Sasuke back!

It was the reason why no matter what he would have to drag Sasuke back.

“Alike? No, I wager we are not. Though both selfish creatures…after all you seek to drag my brother back to Konoha. Kicking and screaming if it has to be. Make him return against his will no matter what he thinks he feels and knows. The same way I want him to return, yet not before he completes his duty,” Itachi’s voice carried away on the wind. The man had long since looked away from Naruto, staring at something in the far distance.

A memory maybe. One filled with what could have been guilt or shame.

Naruto froze as those words tore his mind. Echoing, accusing him. They weren’t true. It wasn’t selfish. He wanted Sasuke back because it would be best. He was saving his one and true friend from destroying himself!

He wasn’t selfish!

He couldn’t be—

“Save him, Naruto. Save Sasuke from himself. He’s lost.” Naruto looked up in shock when the words registered. Not even realizing that he had become so lost in his thoughts that he had looked away. Itachi, back turned, slowly walked away from him. His Akatsuki cloak fluttering in the wind, and steps as silent as they ever were.

“Naruto!” Sakura’s concerned shouts sounded behind him, yet he could not find it in himself to look away from the retreating Uchiha.

Save Sasuke. Itachi, the murder of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke’s tormentor had told him to save his brother. It didn’t make sense, yet it filled with even more determination.

“Naruto, we have to seek shelter soon.” Sakura panted, hunched over, hands on her knees as she finally caught up with her teammate. She was bloody and bruised, her clothes torn and her skin covered in what looked soot and mud.

She had fought hard and maybe not have won as it seemed the Akatsuki had willingly retreated. But she held her own never the less. She didn’t need her teammates to protect her like when she was young. It was more her that would protect them.

“There’s an inn not too far from here if what Kakashi said is true. Ninja of our sort are not welcomed there, but with the right price we will be granted shelter.” Shikamaru frowned as his cigarette got soggy from the rain. How long now had he gone with a smoke? Weeks maybe, he couldn’t quite tell.

“Itachi, he said something weird.” It was obvious Naruto was troubled by whatever exchange he had had with one of the last Uchiha. Sakura wondered for a moment what had transpired, Wondered if it had anything to do with Sasuke.

“Was it about…” she bit her lips, hesitating to even say his name. She couldn’t understand her sudden fright.

Maybe it was a good fright.

Maybe it meant she was one step closer to finding the man she loved. The one she wanted to shake and make realize how much she loved him. How much she wanted him home because out here he would destroy himself.

“We have to save Sasuke. We have to.” Naruto’s voice trembled with the weight of his words. He had already planned to, but how bad was it that even their enemy would tell them to save the wayward Uchiha? Sakura didn’t say a word, her gloved hand slipping into Naruto’s strangely smooth hands. The Kyuubi healed almost every wound. And maybe when she was younger she would have been jealous of something as superficial as smooth skin.

“We’re going to.” She whispered, her head rested on his shoulders. None of the two noticed how Shikamaru watched both silently. His gaze revealed nothing, but the shadows that flickered within could never be mistaken.

The Nara heir was unsettled.

* * *

 “Curious. Very Curious. 11 inches long. Holly with the core of a phoenix feather for which there is only one other of its kind.” Harry whispered softly to himself as he gently trailed a finger over his broken wand. Those were partly words Ollivander had spoken to him as he presented him with his precious wand. There were unshed tears in his eyes, ones that he held back as he lifted one broken piece. It was an uneven break, and even as he raised it strange red dust fell from the edges.

The Sakura tree he sat before, legs folded under himself as he examined his wand seemingly tried to soothe his sadness with a sweet song. The tree, like he had realized the very first time he had seen it was mostly dead, or at least appeared to be. Yet, it was still so beautiful. What little was left of the Sakura blossom were enchanting, even as a few fell off due to the playful wind and floated about Harry’s head.

Harry smiled, even if it was tainted by his sad mood. It was almost as if the tree was telling him all will be well and he would be able to complete his first task of getting back to his world. Fix his wand.

The wind rushed past in loud giggles, swirling around as it ticked Harry’s neck before floating away to the towering mountains in the far distance covered by mist. Birds chirped and squalled, pursuing a journey no man could understand. Tilting their heads down to look at the silent human before dismissing the spectacle that he was.

“You’ll never be able to fix it you know.” Harry jumped at the voice, unconsciously grabbing at his wand and pulling it to his chest as tried to stand.  He didn’t make it far as a soft hand wrapped around his own and he was gently urged to sit once more. His hands unfolded. Facing upright, his wand exposed to the intruder's eyes.

“Firstly you don’t have the knowledge to fix it. You also don’t have the wood or remnants of the once precious core that you would need to fix it. Quite a predicament that,” It was Haya. He hadn’t seen her for the few weeks he had been taken to this strange village. And in the presence of the woman named Ai, who watched him from afar with guarded eyes. One who proved elusive when he tried to speak to her if only to find a way to convince his capture to help him.

Yet, here Haya was. Smiling down at him like she hadn’t just told him he could never repair his wand. Something entirely devastating to any wizard and she seemingly found joy in it!

“Who are you?” Harry’s glare was enough to strip the paint of any wall yet Haya remained entirely unaffected. A pleasant smile on her face even when Harry harshly pulled away from her and regarded her with suspicion.

“Haya of course! I showed you around weeks ago remember? I even brought you underwear after Uchiha-sama grumpily dumped a whole bag of it on me and said you should have it!” Haya chirped, happily plopping herself beside the testy wizard. The scars on her face almost glistened in the bright morning light, not the woman seemingly cared.

“No—I mean—how do you know this?—you’re not—it can’t be possible but you know of wands and—”

“Oh! That’s what it’s called. I always wondered about it. It looked so strange when you hold it at night. Especially when you bathe—”

“You watch me bathe!” Harry’s impossible wide as his hand tightened around his wand.

_Who was this woman?_

“Of course not! But Uchiha-sama does,” Harry would have keeled over in mortification if he could. This woman reminded him of Luna, she honestly did.

“Well, not  _watch_  you per say. He watches your shadow. It’s to make sure you’re not plotting escape of course. He couldn’t have that for…reasons.” Haya hummed, tapping her slender finger against her scarred lip before beaming at Harry. Too quick to even begin to comprehend she was pulling the wizard to his feet, her grip tight.

“W-wait!” Harry struggled. This conversation had suddenly taken a turn for the strange and he honestly didn’t know what to think of it!

“Just follow, Hari, you’ll want to hear what I have to say!” Haya laughed as Harry scowled at her.

He was so _cute_.

Harry huffed in exasperation but allowed himself to be dragged along. He might as well go. Perhaps he would finally get some answers. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed someone vanishing behind doors he had never noticed before. It was Sasuke, and for the briefest moment, the man had looked his way before slowly closing the shoji doors.

* * *

 “You want answers,” Haya hummed, her previously overly excited persona greatly calmed as they both strolled through the village Harry hadn’t a chance to. It wasn’t like Sasuke would have let him, not by himself at any rate. The thought of the man stirred up a cloud of emotions that he didn’t want to decipher.

Ever since he woken up, pulse racing and skin set aflame as the man so easily caressed his skin he didn’t know what to think. He had been awake, not through all of it but, for a good portion. He had felt how Sasuke’s touch was, how his gaze had threatened to set him alight with their intensity. Then there were the traitorous whispers in the furthest reaches of his mind that willed the man to fall into temptation. To touch him more. Caress his skin like he wanted him to, even as his lips would part and shuddering sighs would escape them.

He did not like it. Those thoughts. Because in the end, they were distractions he couldn’t comprehend. Especially when he now had the shadows of a true plan to hopefully return to the wizarding world and the war that awaited him there. Return to finding Hermione and Ron and to his family.

To Petunia, how he had forgotten about her, his dare aunt.

She loved him in her own way, even if she did not express those emotions freely. After all, she had initially blamed him for not progressing in life. He had appeared at her doorstep and she suddenly had to give her life for him. She hadn’t married the man she loved, she never even had a child of her own. She couldn’t risk them finding about the wizarding world and that he was a wizard.

 A wizard where she was not one herself.

“How do you know about the wizarding world? At least, how do you have an idea of it and why—that night—you  _knew_  things.” Harry bit his lips as he sorted through his turbulent thoughts.

“You—do you know how to—” Harry began hopefully, gripping tight to the broken wand he had yet to put away. He, of course, had garnered strange looks for seemingly walking around with a broken stick.

“I can’t help you get back to the other world, Harry. I don’t know that world, the one you called the wizarding world. I’ve only seen things and know things without truly  _knowing,_ ” Haya smiled sadly before clasping her hands over his.

“I think your world would call it the working of a seer? All of us, Ai the other women even some of the children. We  _see_  things, some of us saw you.  _Ai_  saw you,”

“It’s a terrible gift, one that comes with a price. Pounds of flesh was removed from our bodies for every moment we saw too much, experienced too much. I know things because I  _see_. I don’t want to, but I see.” Haya seemed so sad, even as she hesitantly touched Harry’s cheek before finally caressing the soft skin.

“There is a lot you do not know. Too caught up in the innocence of your youth. You see one path when there a million alone that you must take. What you seek is here Harry. You must convince Uchiha-sama to help you, he will make sure you get  _there_.” Her words, he understood but few of them and just like in the wizarding world that terrible weight responsibility rested on his shoulders.

“Orochimaru has interest in you, find this something good and take what you need. He has what could very well lead you to answers, lead you home. Forget about the wand,” Haya finally pulled away, tapping Harry’s cheek as if he were a wayward child.

Forget about his wand? Harry swallowed tightly at that. It was a part of him, but…how could he ever hope to fix it. No, he had to focus on what he had a chance of succeeding in.

“I already knew I would need his help. It’s why I wanted to talk to Ai. Maybe if I know a weakness—”

“But you already know one, Hari!” Haya was back to that strangely cheerful persona. Her grin bright and almost rivalling the sun. If it wouldn’t have been ridiculous Harry would pull out some shades to protect his bloody eyes.

For a moment thought he cheerfulness faded to a familiar mischievousness as she made a point to look him up and down. A pointed gesture with her raised eyebrows.

Harry for the first time flushed a stunning red. He didn’t even know why he was getting blood embarrassed about it! What she implied was—it did come across his mind—but it would be—

“Bloody pointless! He’s Sasuke Uchiha! An annoying, smug, toe rag who would never fall for something as simple as—as—"

“As what, Hari?” Haya seemed all innocent, even as she tilted her head to the side, wide eyes looking into Harry’s own.

“Never mind,” Harry muttered, storming pass Haya and promptly tripping over his two feet in an attempt to get away from what he imagined was the most embarrassing thing in his life. Next to his first kiss with Cho Chang that was awfully wet and disgusting!

“Hari, you really are funny. I see why he’s sexually attracted to you and then some!” Haya laughed, walking past the shell-shocked wizard.

 

“Se—Sexually attracted,” Call Harry a bloody fool, but for some reason even as he felt the things he felt…dreamt of the things he did, he hadn’t even begun to put a label on it.

* * *

 “We have to tell Orochimaru-sama! We don’t have much of a choice!” Sound ninjas whispered frantically among each other. The prisoner had escaped again, but this time he had seemingly escaped for good. They hadn’t thought the red-headed man had it in him! Not without seemingly knowing how to fight, or even having chakra. Yet, he had outsmarted them all.

“You will tell him nothing,” Kabuto’s voice rang loud and clear through the base. A threatening sound with underlying anger and annoyance. He had searched for Sasuke Uchiha for many weeks without so much as a trace of him. He had stopped at one of their prisoner bases only to realize that one important prisoner had escaped.

“But—”

“Nothing! We will correct this—minor incident without Orochimaru any the wiser. I will not appear incompetent in front of him. Never him,” Kabuto clenched his fist tight as he thought of that disappointed stare. One filled with mockery as Orochimaru looked at him as if he were weak. As if were unworthy of him, unlike the Uchiha.

“Maybe we should inform Uchiha-sama. He’s second to Orochi—”

“I am second to our master! Not the Uchiha! Sasuke is but a vessel, one who will soon fulfil his purpose. It would have been as if he never existed,” Kabuto glared down his subordinates. He was the one left in charge of this stronghold. He  _would_  regain control of his stronghold.

The ninja looked doubtfully at each other, but none-the-less gave in. What was there to do but follow orders?

“Good. Now that we’ve reached an accord, I will need your help. I was charged with the task of locating one Sasuke Uchiha who seemingly vanished after being assigned to retrieve someone of great interest. You will find and turn over to me all information that you gather. You will, of course, be greatly rewarded.” Kabuto smirked, light-obscuring his eyes through his glasses as the sound ninja watched him with their unwavering gaze.

* * *

 Harry fidgeted with the belt of his yukata. The cloth was impossibly knotted and refuse to give even when Harry yanked at desperately. Outside where the garden lie, crickets were loud to the ear. Chants that grew and fell in volume with the whispered secrets of the wind and the tales spun by knowing trees.

“Damn it,” He whispered a frustrated breath escaping his red bitten lips as he pulled again. It would not move. His neck felt hot, too hot. Hot enough that he was aware of every tempting whisper of the wind against his skin. How goosebumps rose, and the silk yukata edged it on. A light touch, almost like that morning, almost like Sasuke’s fingers against his skin.

As if hearing his thoughts, the sound of water rushing inside the bath echoed throughout the room. A Siren's call Harry had worked hard to ignore, Haya’s words a tantalizing echo in his mind.

A breath of air escaped his lips again. Strained yet very much restrained. Even as dark green eyes watched the flicker of lantern lights behind the shoji doors that separated the bath from their room

Their. What a silly sentiment.

He was moving before he could even think more about it. Slender fingers sprawled against what he now realized was paper thin shoji doors. His skin terribly hot and his body too aware of his surrounding that even the sound of dripping water had him on edge.

His entry was not missed. No, it could never be missed as he slowly entered the bath, steam high the air and his lips slightly parted. Sasuke looked over his shoulder, back bare. The markings of his hard work clear for all to see as droplets of water, condensed from the mist of the furnace of a room kissed every dip and curve. Carving a path that so many wanted to touch but could never get near.

Sasuke did not say a word. Expression emotionless as onyx eyes sought to drag the truth from Harry’s trembling lips. To tell this man, this dangerous man, bereft of his weapons but never unguarded, exactly why he was there.

“T-the knot. I can’t untie it,” Harry’s voice was but a whisper as he gently closed the shoji door with a resounding click. Water dripped rhythmically from the faucet that filled the bath with fragrant water. Steaming hot that it would leave one feeling raw and exposed but so free at the end.

As exposed as the wizard felt now.

It was akin to the great Black Panther the way Sasuke moved. Uncurling from his seat as he slowly stood, water running rivulets down his body. Harry swallowed tight, ignoring the instinct to run as green eyes burned their mark against the body of a predator. A predator he would dear tempt as he consumed the making s of the man. Steel tight muscles, carved and defined, even visible where that seducing V dipped under a simple cotton towel.

“You can’t untie it?” That deep voice almost sounded mocking. In no way fooled but amused enough to play along with a childish game. To rip the truth bare and reveal Harry’s pitiful deceit as seemingly stalked forward.

A slow steady approach. One that would let his prey know that he was coming but confident in his ability to capture the poor little prey who knew not what he tempted.

Sasuke was no young fool.

Sasuke was directly in Harry’s space. A hair’s breadth away as Harry found himself gently pushed against the very doors he had closed himself. Strong arms barring him in.

“I can’t. Untie it for me,” supple lips whispered breathlessly, wicked gaze unwavering as he curled slender fingers against Sasuke’s wrist. Those deceitful eyes dared him to deny the request. Dared him to back away from the challenge and prove himself without control of the situation.

Slowly, he did as asked. Fingers deftly pulling at the twisted knot, even as he felt Harry’s hot breath against his chest.

Shuddering…

Shallow…

The knot came loose and his knuckles teased at the heated skin below. Sasuke looked down into those consuming eyes. Maybe it was what he saw there that lead him to do what he did. Maybe it was something else.

Harry gasped as he was harshly pushed against the unforgiving door, the silk of his loose yukata slipping up his thigh as it was pulled against a strong waist.

He felt something and maybe it was fear! Maybe it was excitement, Harry didn’t know, and for a moment he didn’t care. Not when he was caught in the predator's trap. Not when Sasuke’s fingers dug into his exposed thigh and pulled him flush against a raging heat that left him without air to breathe.

“You should know silly games like these won’t work on a monster like me,” Sasuke whispered harshly against his would be temptresses ear.

“You’ll have to work much  _harder_ if you ever hope to get what you want out of me,  _Babydoll_.”

Harry’s nails dug into Sasuke’s biceps as he glared up at the man. Even as he panted wildly and beneath his yukata he throbbed in yearning.

Even though he was more than excited and couldn’t quite tell where the game started or ended!

“Sasuke-sama! Sasuke-sama! Come quick!” Ai’s voice pierced through the air. Ripping the moment apart! Shattering it like glass as Sasuke swiftly pulled away from Harry and the Shoji doors were flung open!

“It’s Saijun he—” Ai came up short with heaving breaths as she examined the scene. Sasuke’s breath that was uneven, a sheen a sweat glistening against his skin. Harry who had slumped to the floor, lips blood red. Breathing just as heavy with the folds of his Yukata open, the silk slipping down his shoulders and pulled up one thigh, barely decent.

Ai felt something ugly bubbly inside her. No, this couldn’t be! She didn’t care what she had seen or Haya even! This, this wasn’t supposed to happen. _Wouldn’t happen._

She clenched her hands tight enough that her nails threatened to pierce her soft skin.

“Your son, Uchiha-sama. He’s running a high fever again, he might need a doctor this time,” She spoke coldly as she studied Harry frame. Her eyes softened when she finally looked Sasuke’s way.

“You should get a doctor quickly.”

Throughout this all Harry sat ram still, heart seizing in his chest, green eyes boring into Sasuke’s cold visage. 

**_Son!_**


	10. Crossroads and Sweet Betrayal

_They say that fate meets one at the crossroads. That she will come and take your hand. Through the night and through the day you will walk, hand in hand. They say fate meets one at the crossroads, and before you are a million roads. What happens to fate when you dare to take just one **?**_

It was confusing and everything was moving so fast! One minute he had been wrapped up in the lust and arms of a man that he truly knew nothing about. Pushed against him as he allowed seduction to play it role and he to fall helplessly in a game he did not know how to play.

It had been stupid! It had been! For what would come of his actions, impulsive actions? But what was worse was the knowledge that he hadn't—at the time—he hadn't wanted to think about it. He had simply fallen into the moment. Even as he whispered coy honey sweet words like the temptress of the sea, willing the beast known as man to fall into her embrace. Will Sasuke Uchiha, the man he felt terrible confusing emotions for into  _his_ embrace.

"I tried getting his temperature down myself, but he won't let me touch him!" Ai spoke desperately, eyes never straying from Sasuke who moved swiftly around their room. He wasn't frantic, far from it. Instead, he focused, expression fading to stone cold awareness and focus. Sasuke said nothing to the woman as he slipped his shirt over his head, uncaring that the front was still open to reveal his chest.

There was no time for unimportant observations! Not when his son…

Without a word Sasuke left the room, shoji doors closing with a resounding click, leaving behind both Ai and Harry in a tension-filled silence.

Harry scrambled from where he had slumped against quickly cooling walls, as the hot water from the bath drained away and the chatter of the wind filled the private space. He pulled the open folds of his Yukata closed, deftly tying the knot Sasuke himself had relieved him of. He was deftly aware of Ai's stare. How she seemingly judged him like their first meeting.

How her stare left him feeling wanting. As if he, with simply existing would never be good enough. It was a thought that left a bitter taste in his mouth, and soon bread the feelings of dislike in the pits of his stomach. Without a word he pushed past the woman who had blocked his way, entering the bedroom feeling naked and exposed as she continued to stare at his back

The full moon from outside shun bright, casting the land in an eerie glow, and bathing Harry's skin it curious caress. Even as the chattering wind slowly became a worried chorus. Dark clouds lazily drifting, heavy with rain that would soon pelt the lands. A petition to block out the wonders of the moon and plunge the village into a lasting darkness.

"I said that I would accept you, if only for Sasuke-sama. My thoughts when I watched him take you off that boat, your hands tied and your awful green stare that never wavered from his own dark one." Ai began softly, closing the shoji doors of the bathhouse as she watched Harry make himself presentable.

Her eyes swooped down his form. He was a lean little thing, perfectly fit and formed she could tell. His silk Yukata did not hide much, not when it was damp from the previous heat of the bathhouse. Or perhaps, damp from Sasuke-sama's touch. The thought angered her greatly and it took all she had to hold said anger in.

"Careful, you almost sound like you would love to be the captured in my torrent love affair." Harry's smile was more mocking than anything as he turned to face the woman. He didn't get satisfaction from her obvious angered glare, or even in the way, her hands clenched as if to resist the impulse to wrap her delicate hands around his neck.

"You think this is funny! You are as blind as you are childish, Harry Potter! Who are you to believe you can tame—" Her scarred lips were pulled into a snarl. Her beautiful eyes wild with anger and filled with passion as she watched the man that looked at her with such disregard. It was as if her plight did not faze him! Or perhaps, he did not know her plight.

She stuttered at the thought. Realizing how she laid herself bare before a man that knew nothing or her or Sasuke-sama. Knew not her feelings and how his simple presence threatened to ruin everything she wanted so desperately.

"You love him, at least you think you do," Harry whispered, green eyes shining with the intelligence he so often hid. Preferring to most times hide behind his many masks so he would be overlooked in a world that demanded so much of him.

Ai stilled when green eyes pinned her in place. The stare wasn't that of a fool or weak boy. It was a man that had seen much, played many parts…though still wrapped in the blanket of his youth. The only reprieve the world would allow him. And perhaps she realized, it was that youth, that slight childishness that drew Sasuke to the strange man.

The man she had seen her dreams. Dreams she could never understand, not like Haya did. Dreams she was not willing to accept when they shattered her hopes and dreams.

"But for you, he will not entertain romantic feelings. That is if he is even capable," The words were not meant to be cruel for how much Harry disliked the woman. It was simply the truth as he began to analyze the Ai's behaviour. He had been wrong before, she wasn't the way to convince Sasuke to help him.

She in the end, even as he witnessed the tension between the two was not of great importance. What information he could have gotten from her would have been held tightly to her chest as she jealously guarded all she knew of the man she wanted as a lover.

Ai frowned. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it felt like something had shifted between them in but a second. Almost as if she had lost some worth and was being dismissed. She did not like the feeling.

"You are only a duty to him. Nothing else. He may lust after your body, but in the end what worth do you—"

"I do not paint you as a fool. Of course, I am his duty, I am but a captured strange man that he will soon deliver to his master. I've never disputed that, so why find the need to state the obvious I wonder?" He grew tired of this useless drivel.

He was well aware of his position!

He—they—

He did not entertain foolish thoughts of love and deep emotion when he hadn't a clue why he felt the way he did around the man! Why Sasuke himself would do the things he did and touched him with such hesitancy and wanting in the same breath.

What he entertained was getting back to the wizarding world any way he could!

"So brave. I wonder if you would think the same if Sas—" Ai's mocking smile quickly faded when faced with

"You think I am a threat. I am not, now if you'll excuse me most gracious host, I need to get dressed. My yukata is unfortunately ruined." Harry didn't spare the woman a second look. So similar to Sasuke with his dismissal that Ai found something sinking to the bottom of her stomach. Flashes of her dreams caused her to shake and her arms to wrap around herself to fend off the attack of the truth. Flashes of blonde hair and blue eyes, of black hair and green eyes. Flashes of the vibrant pink of another woman.

"You are not the sun for which the moon follows, neither are you the stars that flitter around the moon. Then what are you?" Harry turned around in confusion, a feeling of anxiousness creeping up his spine as his heart raced. Ai wasn't speaking to him h realized. The woman had already turned to leave, eyes blank as she held her arms tight around her.

What she glimpsed in her beautiful eyes was a desperation he did not understand. A pain for a heart, broken and something else that willed him to step forward and grab her. To ask her what she was thinking? What was it that she planned to do?!

As it was he didn't move forward, and he watched her leave the room. Muttering words under her breath. One by one, drops of rain scattered along the roof. A muffled sound that soon grew loud, yet never deafening. He felt as if he had made a mistake in riling the woman. In not soothing her doubts with false platitude if not for his own self-preservation.

He uneasily dismissed said thoughts, even as shrugged the yukata from his body and slowly caressed the soft cotton of one of the shirts he had been given.

Sasuke had a son. A son who was ill—

"Harry we need your help," Harry slowly turned to see a worried Haya. She bit her lips nervously but her eyes shun with so much determination and that ever knowing stare.

A son who was ill—

Perhaps—

It was a thought that bore fruit in Harry's mind. The whisper of his inner snakes that tempted and teased an idea within his mind. It wasn't so much as a kind idea, as it was one of manipulation, something he never much cared for.

But—

"I'll get dressed. A moment please, Haya." Harry smiled slightly before hurrying to pull on his clothes. For a moment his eyes flickered to the red and white fan that he now knew was the symbol of the Uchiha clan. Though, or a clan it was odd that it was only Sasuke he had ever seen.

Haya only nodded, a strange teasing of a smile on her lips as she retreated to the halls, thunder sounding loud and clear above.

* * *

"He won't let anyone touch him, only his father you see," Haya began as they swiftly walked down narrow halls, candle lights flickering as they passed. Harry had never been allowed down these paths. Better yet, he hadn't known of their existence except for the time he had glimpsed Sasuke disappearing behind double doors. He had been curious for but a moment until he had been whisked away with Haya's tales of what she knew and of what he must do.

"But Uchiha-sama must leave to find a doctor. It's a far stretch, but maybe you could help?" They both stopped before a very beautifully crafted shoji door. It swirled with shimmering patterns of tea leaves and the wind. The Uchiha clan's symbol inconspicuously tucked away in the edges of said door.

"Did Sasuke—" Harry began with a frown but was quickly interrupted as Haya gently pushed open the shoji doors.

"No, he did not ask for you." Haya gave an impish smile, one that dimmed slightly when faced with Ai's disapproval. The woman stood the side, her hands twisted in her kimono, glaring at Haya, yet refusing to so much as look at Harry.

Harry could feel the obvious tension between the two. Might have said something if he hadn't become distracted at that very moment.

Soft whimpers filled the room. Ones filled with pain and sadness. Cries that rang too true and stirred something within Harry. He looked away from the women, and couldn't help how his eyes widened. How he stopped short at the sight that was almost too unbelievable.

There Sasuke sat, a wet cloth in his hand as he gently dabbed at the sweat that beaded on the forehead of a terribly small child.

What was surprising, was the gentleness to his touch. How he diligently soothed the child's aches and pains. Hushed him gently when he would cry out and hold onto his father's arms with tiny hands.

This was Sasuke Uchiha? This was the man that had taunted him, captured him. Had killed men before him and painted his skin in crimson red when he had tried to escape?

"To-" The child whimpered, wide dark eyes blurry and clouded with fever. His cherub cheeks flushed red and small mouth open as he panted for air. He looked so much like Sasuke. Full dark hair a little more curly than Sasuke's own spikes that fell around his cheeks and a cute button nose.

Sasuke frowned but gently caressed the child's cheeks, before lifting him into his arms.

So small, Harry thought. A lump forming in his throat as he watched them. He had hoped to use the situation to his advantage. But could he? Could he carelessly use the illness of a child, even if it was the child of someone he wanted something from, for his own gain?

It wasn't something Harry Potter would do. Was it?

"Haya said I could help," Harry spoke up, as said woman closed the doors behind him.

"Sasuke—Uchiha-sama, I apologize for the foolish girl. Haya should know better than to—" Ai began furiously, ignoring Haya's glare as she moved as if to block Harry's view.

Harry of course deftly stepped around her, approaching Sasuke with a lack of fear as he slowly sat before both Sasuke and the child. The child, Saijun, Harry recalled, whimpered slightly with the shift of the bed and Ai's raised voice. It was enough for the woman to clamp her mouth shut and look away in part shame and anger.

"Will you allow me to help?" Harry pushed on, hesitantly holding out his arms in an offering. Dark eyes bore into his own, probably searching for his lie and motive. Sasuke would be very much disappointed to find none. This was not the path to go. He wasn't of the sort to manipulate the situation like this even if it would work for his betterment. Call it his foolish Gryffindor heart even.

"If you think to endear me to you simply because—" Any lesser man would probably have quivered before Sasuke's glare. One seemingly made fiercer with a whimpering child held so gently to his chest. A stranger sight than any other Harry thought. Especially when those identical wide dark eyes that looked up at him with such innocence.

"You, Sasuke Uchiha, need to find a doctor. Your son won't let anyone hold him, yet you cannot hope to carry him along with you through the storm." Harry glared and for the first time, Sasuke saw the shadow of the man that lay under the many layers he was always faced with.

It was no fairytale. What he saw did not soothe his worries. Or even remotely removed Harry as a potential threat that would use any means to get what he wanted.

Seijun whimpered as his father continued to stare at the man. A war of wills, because as much as Harry was never much of a threat to Sasuke himself, his son would pose a weakness that could so easily be exploited. A weakness that would have him lose the higher ground, because no matter what many thought, Sasuke did have the capacity to love. And Sasuke did love his son, the only one of two that survived.

Seijun seemingly took the choice out of his hands. The child squirmed in discomfort before staring into bright green eyes. There is something about children that seemingly sensed the intent of people's spirit. Could sense danger and negative emotions, yet could sense very much when they would be safe.

Slowly the baby boy reached out to Harry, whining when his father seemingly held him back.

Harry looked at the child. He was in truth uncomfortable with the turn of events. He wasn't much for children. Not like this, not when they were children of strangers and would now be dependent on him.

"I won't deny that I had thought to use him against you. I want to find my home again and your master might know the way—"

"Harry!" Haya protested. What was he doing! He could ruin everything by being so truthful! Ai bit her lips nervously, heart pounding in her chest as she watched one of her fears unfold.

Harry Potter and Sasuke Uchiha, they were rapidly approaching the crossroads and she didn't want it to happen! She wouldn't lose the man she loved!

"—I told you Sasuke-sama, I told you! He can't be trusted, please—" Ai began, talking over Haya, refusing to let the woman bend the situation to her will. She didn't care what the dreams said, and wouldn't put as much faith in them like Haya the poor delusional child did!

Harry Potter and Sasuke Uchiha, they were rapidly approaching the crossroads and she didn't want it to happen! She wouldn't lose the man she loved!

"—I want you to help me instead of turning me over to him but—I'm neither cruel nor am I wicked! What kind of man uses the illness of a child against its parent if only to further their own goal? I call you a monster, then what would that make me?" Harry's words were fierce as they were true. They were enough to silence both Haya and Ai who were both stunned by the words.

Of course, Sasuke gave nothing away. His expressions still closed off and almost cold. No one would have ever believed Harry if he had said this was the same man who had pinned him against the wall of a bathhouse, thigh pushed between his own. Whispered hot breath against his ear.

No, no one would have believed him.

Without a word, Sasuke stood with Saijun in his arms. His eyes that Harry wouldn't dare to look away from as he stood himself unreadable.

"Come… Babydoll," There was a slight trace of amusement in Sasuke's words. But no one could mistake the seriousness in his tone. A revelation that what Sasuke was about to do was not to be taken lightly, and if he should find Harry wanting—

* * *

Harry swallowed as Sasuke slowly handed the child over to him. Saijun, the poor thing was exhausted and running hotter than any furnace. He simply curled into Harry's arms, head tucked in the crook of the wizard's neck as he fell into a fitful sleep.

Harry felt his magic hum as if to bring comfort to a child that was not his own. Searching for the echo of magic that would help to soothe the child but was not there. Or shouldn't be. Harry barely held back his shock when he felt the answering echo of infantile magic. It was weak and mostly incomplete, a testament to Saijun's age. Nothing that would mark the child as one of the wizarding kind because it felt different, but magic, magic was there! One familiar yet, Harry couldn't truly place it.

"I can't quite tell if you're simply brave or if you're just that…naïve." Sasuke's words pulled Harry from his raging thoughts. Sasuke had his back to him as he examined the edge of his blade before sliding the metal into its sheath. Lightning streaked through the sky by now, a strange turn for the weather when the evening had alluded to no storm.

"And I can't quite tell if that blade you carry around is your way of making up for something you lack." Harry snipped before his attention was stolen by Saijun who fussed about. Harry frowned, completely ignoring Sasuke as he moved to put the child on their futon.

Saijun was getting hotter by the second and that wasn't good. The child might need comfort, but not comfort pressed against his equally hot skin. Even if his whimpers tore ever so slightly at his heart.

Harry spun around ready to ask for some cold water and a rag and jumped when suddenly faced with Sasuke. The man moved too silently for his own good! A cloth was placed in his hand and Harry noted that a bowl filled with water had made it to the stand beside the large futon.

"Maybe not naïve. Noble, too noble. Too kind, even if you try to hide that very fact from me at this very moment." Sasuke whispered, hand a hair's breadth from Harry's cheek.

"The same way you would hide behind the mask of a monster? Trust your child in the hands of your captive even when you still doubt my intentions." Harry didn't know why he said it. The words simply left his lips. A heavy weight settling in his chest. Sasuke said nothing, stepping away as he flung his cloak over his arm. He would be traversing through the storm to the other end of the village for a doctor who would treat his son.

"If anything happens to hi—"

"Nothing will. You have my word." Harry spoke with conviction and perhaps it was why Sasuke said nothing else. The man speared him one searching look, before he was out in the halls, already making his way dirt roads that lead to the village.

* * *

"It's not going to stop. Not anytime soon," Shikamaru muttered, leaned against the single window of their rented room. He watched as terrifying winds pulled and pushed at defenceless trees. Forcing them to bend to its will, to fold to its order for nothing else would suffice. Smoke curling from his lips, cigarette held between his fingers, his eyes slid over to Naruto. The man rested with his back towards him, curled against the wall and with a slashed headband held tight in his hand.

It was Sasuke's. Could only be the Uchiha's. It was only that man Naruto would obsessively hold on to. His eyes flickered to Sakura who was equally curled up on her own bed. Her brows furrowed in sleep, teeth clenched tight, before a frustrated breath would leave her.

For a moment he wondered if she knew.

Did she know how close Naruto and Sasuke were? Did she know of that night hidden under the alcove of trees, the air hot and humid? Two teens barely thirteen shy and unsure, sharing tentative kisses that would sooner go nowhere. Even as they stared bright eyes in the novelty of young love trading gentle touches.

Sasuke would run seeking revenge, and in his wake leave Naruto behind, a bleeding wound through his heart. Abandoning all possibilities and roads the Uchiha would no sooner traverse now.

She probably knew and did not care. Team seven were an odd bunch. Tied up in peculiar strings of faith Neji would say.

Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. Tearing his gaze away from the two to stare out at the chaos that raged outside. He could see fishermen fleeing from the docks in the distance. The sea a twisting of black and frothing white that almost seemed silver, even without the light of a moon or stars.

This mission was selfish. Tsunade had caved if only slightly and allowed Naruto and Sakura the chance to retrieve the Uchiha heir. The woman hoped that once faced with the man that Sasuke had become the two would give up. They would finally think of the village and move on, instead of wasting their lives chasing a ghost.

Not only that but if they succeeded in capturing Sasuke, the Sharingan would be back under Konoha's control.

"Hey, you three in there!" A gruff voice grumbled, followed by an impatient knocking. Shikamaru could hear the nervous shuffling of the Innkeeper and could imagine the man sweating bullets. He had been uneasy since their arrival, and that unease never seemed to leave the man.

Naruto and Sakura did not budge, something that was worrying in itself. With a sigh and the muttering of troublesome under his breath, Shikamaru moved to open the door.

The Innkeeper scowled at the ninja before nervously looking around the empty corridors. One of his arms was in a sling and was obviously swollen. Skin blotchy red and bruised in odd places.

"You're the ones from Konoha, right?" Shikamaru didn't even get the chance to answer. A piece of rolled up paper was pushed into his hand and the Inn Keeper was ambling away down the corridor.

He frowned at the strange events. Flipping the paper back and forth, eyes quickly finding neatly written script hidden in the corner.

_The fisherman knows where he is. Ask for Yamato, he will not be convinced at first, but he knows._

"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed. A thought amplified as both Naruto and Sakura shifted awake behind him.

Troublesome indeed.

* * *

"Ai, I've always respected you. You who are the only surviving daughter of our late master." Haya's voice barely carried over the insistent rains that fell for days. Water tables so filled that it almost seemed like rivers burst through the soft soil to flood the lands that surrounded them.

Haya could hear the cheerful laughter of their children. How their footsteps thundered down the halls and disrupted the peace in the walkways even as the winds howled. A gentle smile teased at her lips, when from the corner of her eye she spotted, Sasuke-Sama, the man carefully listening to the words of the doctor he had found. An attentive father, even if his disposition was cold and said child had been initially an act of duty.

Her brown eyes flickered to the rooms the man walked from, and before the shoji doors could close, she saw Harry, beautiful spirit he was. He sat, obviously uncomfortable she could tell, Saijun in his lap, still flushed with his tiny fingers fiddling with Harry's own hand. The child would look up at Harry with wide eyes and innocent grin, bubbles of laughter escaping the small mouth. Green eyes would widen in surprise. A puff of laughter escaping his own lips, only for him to look away confused when he would meet the unreadable stare of Sasuke who himself would look away.

He would turn his attention to the doctor he had found, resisting the need to understand just who the man that held his son was.

"But so easily you dismiss our gifts. For selfish reasons no doubt, this is not the way—"

"I am not my father! Neither or you, don't pretend to be more than you are Haya," Ai hissed, almost threatening to tear the fabric of her Kimono for how tight she held it.

"I am the head of our clan. I have lost many pounds of flesh as any other if not more. I see further than you could ever hope to—" Ai glared, wringing her fingers in her Kimono. Threads fraying at the abuse as the woman anxiously paced.

"Then play your part oh  _divine_  leader! See to it that the Gryffindor heir is delivered where he must go. With the help of the only one who can bring him there, Sasuke-sama!" Haya shouted. The usually gentle woman enraged as she watched her sister though not in blood, devolve into someone so childish. Someone who would put her own selfish wants before the order of faith.

"I love him! I love him Haya. The moment he rescued us from Orochimaru, even when he beget children through my own sister. The way he looked at her even though their union was not one of love, but a means to ensure the Uchiha clan would survive for he plans to die when he finally meets his brother!" Ai rubbed furiously at her eyes, willing the tears away.

Haya looked on with pity, but no compassion. Sasuke-sama hadn't asked Ai to love him and he didn't give her reason to do so. He had always been clear for whom his affection had lain. Or once laid.

The sun that shines too bright, and the moon that dimmed terribly in its brilliance.

"You have already played your part," Haya suddenly whispered. Stepping back in shock, her hands trembling as she covered her lips I fright! Image after image whizzing through her mind, yet she could not grasp an outcome. A safe and happy outcome.

"You would betr—"

"I forbid you to speak to him! Haya, I forbid you!" Ai spoke desperately, holding unto Haya's arm when the woman made to leave her presence. To run to Sasuke and tell him what she knew!

The heavy weight of what she saw but couldn't understand chained her in place. There were whispers of a man that told her this was to be.

Sasuke and Harry must meet at the crossroads.

"In your selfishness, you have only robbed yourself of what little love he might have had for you," Haya glared. Tears brimming in her eyes because by keeping silent, didn't she aid in this betrayal?

Ai stepped back in shock, something terrible ripping at her heart. Guilt maybe, as she watched Haya walk away from her, shoulders hunched and head bowed.

* * *

"To—To," Saijun happily chortled, thumb stuck in his mouth as he blinked up at Harry who diligently whipped the sweat from his brows. He could still feel the echo of magic he had felt a day ago but it no longer shocked or confused him. Haya had revealed to him that Saijun's mother had been like her. A seer of sorts, and perhaps that was the magic he felt.

He wondered if this little boy would soon begin to lose pounds of flesh for visions he may see in the future.

"You are unexpectedly gentle with him," Harry did not flinch at the sudden voice that pierced through the peace of the room. Sasuke had strangely taken to observing him from the shadows as he watched over the man's son. Looking for something Harry could tell.

"He's innocent. Where I would sooner throw you down a flight of steps and dance on your grave, I would spare the child," Harry gave an impish grin, barely holding back a true smile when he noticed the slight twitch of Sasuke's lips.

Again with these uncertain feelings. Sasuke had gently placed a vial of medicine in his hand, his fingertips brushing against Harry's skin. His hair stood on end, a feeling that coursed through him in waves and brought with it sweet memories of a night that could have been.

"You're a distraction, Sasuke Uchiha. Perhaps, I'm also yours," It was simply fact. Harry could feel those dark eyes boring into his back, willing him to face the man, but he wouldn't.

Not because he was afraid, but because he did not wish to look into those eyes and find himself bare before the truth.

He had a strange magnetic attraction to his capture. One strong enough where he dreamt of his touch and soft kisses on his lips. Where those dreams clouded his goals to return to a world where he would suffer.

"You think so highly of yourself, Baby Doll," Sasuke scoffed, moving to sit on the bed, hands carding through the soft hair of his son.

"Aren't I? You want to avenge your clan you need to focus on that. Because if what Haya tells me is true, your brother is not an easy foe to conquer. You don't need distractions yet here I am. Like a siren that calls to base needs of any man. Your base needs." Harry smirked, as he watched Saijun fall asleep in his father's arms. His smirk slowly faded away though, green eyes troubled and dark.

He didn't even have it him to gasp when so suddenly his chin was grasped by a firm hand. He looked up into tempting pools of black and felt his breath hitch. Why was Sasuke so close to him? Almost as if he would kiss him…

"Sexual attraction can easily be sated. Not much of a distraction is it, then?" A lie. Harry could see through it. For how cold Sasuke would say those words, his actions spoke differently. It was in the way that his fingers dragged over Harry's soft lips. The way he wouldn't look away for a moment, even as he unconsciously drew closer. Close enough to smell the sweet fragrance of lilies that perfumed Harry's skin.

"Easily sated? Then why don't you? I believe you know your words are lies, know that if you have a taste of all that I am, you will want more. A distraction." Harry whispered, green eyes focused on dusky lips. He was so close if he would lean just a fraction closer—

"To!" Like a bucket of cold water both froze, pulling away from each other. Harry went as far as to remove himself from the futon and straighten his rumpled shirt. Saijun tilted his head curiously at the two before popping his thumb back in his mouth, already being soothed back to sleep when his father combed his fingers through his thick hair.

"You can be rid of this distraction if you help me. Don't turn me over to Orochimaru. Either that, or…kill me." Harry said without fanfare, leaving Sasuke behind to search for a peaceful spot to calm his head.

Sasuke's lips twitched at the exchange. Babydoll seemed different and as loathe as he was to admit it, he found it intriguing.

Distractions. One that was slowly becoming something more than lust and sexual attraction. Flashes of sparkling blue eyes filled his mind for a moment, and a left a terrible taste in his mouth.

Sometimes he wished Uchiha's didn't feel as deep as they did.

* * *

It was dark. A storm raged, but it was peaceful in its own strange way. Until it wasn't!

Explosions rocked the village, the night set ablaze with raging orange and crimson flames. Frightened screams, terrified shouts rang through the night, hardly muffled by the torrent of rain that beat against the defenceless soil. Like shadows they moved!

Swift!

Hardly seen!

Except for the thud of leather booths against weathered roof tiles as waves of ninja infiltrated the village.

"He'll escape at this rate!" Naruto snarled, pushing through the wave of sound ninja that surrounded them. Metal ringing through the air and sweat slicking the side of his face as cut down with precise movement the enemy that stood in his way.

They had been tipped off. They had found Sasuke, even if the fisherman wouldn't give up the rogue ninja. Not even the threat of what Konoha would do to those who stood in the way of justice had phased the man.

It was Sakura who had salvaged the lucky break. Appealing to the man's obvious admiration and respect towards Sasuke. Asking him if he thought Sasuke would want him to needlessly give away his life for him when the Uchiha could protect himself.

"Watch your back!" Sakura snarled, flipping over Naruto. Deftly blocking the kunai that would have pierced her throat in quick succession, twirling in the same breath to grab the throat of her would be attacker. A sickening crunch resounding as she punched the man and moved on to next enemy.

Naruto growled as yet another wave of sound ninja blocked his path! His blood boiled at the thought. He was so damn close! Sasuke was here damn it!

" **Wind Style:** ** _Wind Dragon!_** " Screams tore through the air as Naruto released the jutsu. A wind dragon swirling through the droves of sound ninja. Tearing apart all those who stood in its path. Naruto didn't even wait already on his feet, kunai gripped between his teeth as he flung a barrage of shuriken. Metal against metal loud in his ear as he dodged the blade of his enemy, rolling onto his feet just as quickly as he had evaded. Locked in a standstill as his kunai pushed against its enemy twin.

"Why are you here?!" Naruto ripped through the lock. Flipping backwards as a sharp blade missed the skin of his scalp by an inch, blood pouring down the wound he couldn't avoid.

The ninja smirked, Cocky in his achievement. Grinning as he charged forward. The sound of the fight around him pumping adrenalin through his blood. Thunder and lightning clashing as explosion after explosion threatened to flatten the village.

Naruto growled as he fended off the attack. Pushed back at every turn till he unexpectedly collided with Sakura's back. The woman grunted but did nothing eyes. Eyes trained in the ninja that surrounded them.

"You go left I go right?" Naruto whispered. Licking his lips as the anxiety rose. A good type of anxiety. Sakura gripped her kunai with both hands, already counting down how many blows it would take to take down the ninjas to Naruto's right.

"Better yet, I go up you go below!  **Earth style:** ** _Earth Crater_** _!_ " Sakura screamed, the earth underneath them exploding in shards as she completed the hand seals. Ninjas were sent sailing through the air. She wasted no time, Naruto already in position she flipped off his back, shuriken drawn as she propelled herself through the air.

The sound didn't stand a chance! Before they could even think they were grasping at their necks, blood seeping through their fingers.

She landed off balanced, rolling into position with Naruto to her back again. There were more coming! They had to hurry, get through this horde before Sasuke would be gone again!

She couldn't let that happen!

New screams tore through the air. It was enough to jar her focus. Balls of fire raged and ripped through the sound! Embers fell like the rain itself, sizzling and vanishing upon the wind as if it were never there. Leaving nothing ashes in its wake.

Among it all,  _he_  stood.

"Sasuke," Sakura whispered reverently. Unconsciously stepping forward. As if she could touch him, hold him from her position surrounded by enemies.

Maybe he heard her. For he looked in her direction, cold and unforgiving. He was so different that she couldn't help her startled gasp. He was no longer a teen, and by small mercies, wasn't it foolish of her to expect to see the same boy who had left the village without so much as backwards look!

"Sasuke!" She screamed when he turned away from her, vanishing among the bodies of sound ninja that charged after him. Why were they even attacking him? Wasn't he still with Orochimaru?

The thought that he may have left the traitorous snake's hold, made her heart leap with hope. Sasuke, her precious Sasuke would return to them.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted in shock when the woman so suddenly went charging through the enemy line. He looked in her direction and understood. Sasuke, it was Sasuke!

With a mighty roar, he cut through the ninja in his way, charging after Sakura who he lost in the crowd of their enemies.

"Sasuke!" He screamed, glimpsing the man vanishing around another corner, blood soaking through his clothes.

"You won't get away! Not this time!" He swore, the muscles of his thighs screeching in protest as he increased his speed.

* * *

Breathing heavily through his mouth, sweat slicking his back, Harry raced down the halls of the clan house that shook. As if it would topple off its foundation, with the roof set ablaze. The heat was unimaginable as smoke billowed and burned his eyes.

"Harry this way! This way!" He didn't know who it was. What it was, but something had woken him from his sleep. Called for him to escape, to find Saijun and leave this place. It did not speak with true words and felt entirely outwardly.

When he fled his room, he could have sworn that a shadow stood behind that dead Sakura tree.

Harry hissed as the wood above him creaked. Was thro of caving in? It must be with vicious flames licking at its majesty. Rendering it useless and more a danger to those it once protected.

"This way!" The voice shouted. It sounded like a child, and as Harry ran through the acrid smoke, tearing through paper thin shoji doors to enter what he now saw was Saijun's room, he saw what it was. A ghost. Like the ghost back in his world that still lingered. Never passing on until their unfished business was dealt with.

The ghost of a boy. The shadow that must have watched him whenever he felt unease. Sasuke's other son, the one that died.

Just as quickly as the ghost showed its form, it vanished with a soft smile, its duty done.

Saijun, the poor child was bawling. He didn't understand what was happening. Neither did Harry, but it did not stop him from scooping the child into his arms and quickly seeking a way out of the flaming death trap that had become of the clan house.

Rafters fell before him, blazing hot. The embers catching his skin, burnt terrible trails up his arms. He did not scream, he couldn't afford to right now.

He ran as quickly as he could. The walls groaning as they began to cave in, the smell of burning wood choking and his glasses fogged over with thick white smoke. He could hear a fight outside. A terrible fight with the sounds of tortured screams and the burn of an energy so similar to magic but not.

What was going on? Where was Sasuke?!

"Sasuke!"

"Sasuke, please!" A woman shouted, bursting through the doors on the other side of the house. The same doors Harry needed to escape through. Cool air rushing through for a brief moment to caress his itchy soothe covered skin.

Saijun coughed helplessly. Little body racked with pain, as he tried to clear his lungs to no avail.

Harry needed to get out, and get out now!

The woman heard the sound and froze in her tracks. Light green eyes pinning Harry and Sasuke in place. He noted how she was covered in blood. How her gloves were battle worn and she held a terrible long blade in her hands. One covered in fresh blood.

Her cheeks were smeared with grime and her eyes looked wild. Something told Harry that he shouldn't approach the woman. It wasn't safe.

"You're not Sasuke, but…" Her eyes flickered to the child who whimpered miserably against Harry. Familiar black hair, pale skin…

It couldn't be…

Could it?

This man had the same features. Right, how silly—

The child whimpered and turned to face her and what she saw sent her heart plummeting to the bottom of her stomach.

"Sasuke," She whispered, reaching out as if to touch the child. Harry didn't wait, he sped off in the opposite direction. He could hear the woman hot on his tail. Telling him to wait, that she wouldn't hurt him.

He could hear her rage as he evaded, ran down secret pathways he never knew existed with a wailing child over his shoulders.

"Hush, Saijun. Hush baby, you have to be quiet. We have to find your father." Harry whispered frantically, heart jumping in his throat when he barely avoided a terrible fall as staircases gave way and still yet the woman chased.

"Stop! You there, I only want to help! I am from Konoha, they sent us to help you!" Sakura shouted. It was a lie, and they both knew it, but Harry did pause for a second.

Help him. Sent to help him. He stood still with the fire crackling around him and his breaths laboured. Before him were two paths, but he didn't know which one to take.

"To-san, want to-san!" Saijun mumbled miserably, wailing his heart out and holding tight to Harry's neck.

"It's you that he kidnapped, isn't it. The one that Orochimaru wants? We can, we were sent to get you back." Sakura whispered as she caught up. Eyes not straying from the child in Harry's arms. If she could just get closer, get a hand on the child—

"Help me?" Harry whispered, inching away as Sakura moved forward. The woman smiled, tucking a lock of her pink hair behind her ear.

"Yes, help you. You want to get away, don't you? Just, let me hold the—" Almost there. She was almost there. If that child was Sasuke's—

"Portego!" A whoosh of air frightened Sakura. She stumbled back as a wave a rippling blue energy rose up from the ground. Behind it, the man fled with what could be Sasuke's child over his shoulder.

This blue wave looked unstable, holes quickly riddling the strange shield as Sakura stood. She tried to get around it but was pushed back each time. She screamed in rage, her fist punching at the shield that kept her away.

"Sasuke!" She shouted as if the baby she had seen was actually the man that she loved. With a fierce cry, she broke through the shield, chasing after the man. She was done being nice! She would capture him. Screaming and hollering if she had to!

* * *

Harry gasped for breath. It was a stupid move! Trying to raise a wandless shield when he hadn't the skill for it. Not yet! His muscles ached as his magic raged unrestrained within him. A punishment for his stupidity.

He ran and couldn't find a way out! Every turn a dead end. Every hall filled with fire so hot he would be fooled to think it was the Fiendfrye spell that had been cast.

"Get back here!" the woman raged behind him. He had no choice did he?! Swallowing tight he held the baby tight and willed his magic forward. With fear in his heart and no destination in mind, he let his magic lose.

A resounding clap of thunder echoed through the room and as Sakura fought through the smoke, a shadow wrapped around her legs preventing her pursuit, Harry apparated. Sasuke's child held close to his chest.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura glared fiercely, watching as her fellow shinobi looked at her coldly, hands formed in the seal that took control of her shadow. Stopped her from pursuing her prey.

* * *

"Sasuke, stop!" Naruto shouted. He had chased after Sasuke who seemingly evade him at every turn. Not now though, the man stood with his back facing him, his sword held loosely at his side.

Naruto didn't fool himself to think Sasuke's guard was down. He readied his kunai. This would be it, he would bring Sasuke back today!

"It seems even now you still haven't grown. Chasing useless dreams like a vulture who has captured prey. Gnawing at it until there is nothing bone left." Sasuke muttered, turning slowly to face the blond. It had been years since he had seen him. He…was different.

Naruto was taller now, much broader in the shoulders. He held himself with more confidence than he had been in his youth. He was more focused, his blue eyes taking in his form and preparing for when he would attack.

"I'm taking you back—"

"Konoha is not my home!" Sasuke hissed, a current of electricity racing up his blade as he prepared to fight. He would not be dragged back to Konoha. Not by Naruto, not by anyone!

They met in a clashing of blades. Sparks sent flying. No man giving, no man submitting. They fought for something and would not be denied!

Naruto dodged the blade that would have taken his head, barely dodging sparks of current that whizzed past his face and formed craters in the ground. Sasuke was playing. It was almost as if his best friend wanted him dead.

He roared outrage, grappling with Sasuke. Punching him in the face yet not connecting. His strike was blocked and he flung to the ground. A blade barely missing his face where it pierced through the ground he had lain!

"Sasuke stop this!" Naruto shouted, but Sasuke did not listen, a torrent of flames sent his way as they flipped through trees and fought like mad men.

Behind them, the village torn asunder and the storm raged above. Crackling lightning as they exchanged blow for blow. Blood for blood. Busted each other's lips, tried to pierce through the heart of the other.

"I will save you, Sasuke!"

"Save me from what?!" Sasuke spat. Panting as he regained his footing, his blade held tight before him. They were both bloodied and bruised. Worse for wear as they unleashed their anger on the other. Wiping away all the memories of love they shared with hate and revenge.

Sweet kisses were poison.

Soft touches a sword that would cut down a man's spirit.

Explosions rocked them off their feet. Sasuke looked quickly into the distance to see the clan house go up flames. Debris falling from the sky like the after show of a firework.

Saijun, Harry. He thought wildly and within him, his rage bubbled. He would—

" **Wind Release:** ** _Tornado Trap!_** " Naruto screamed. Using Sasuke's momentary distraction to his advantage. Gales of wind rose up around them, screeching in the air as they swilled and tore trees from their roots. Sasuke staggered back as walls of wind surrounded him. His eyes were filled with hatred as he vanished behind the walls of a tornado that wiled and threatened the deafen him.

Naruto stumbled, barely catching his breath before h quickly pulled out his scroll and brush. The trap wouldn't last long! He needed to paint the seals around Sasuke as he was trapped inside. Seals that would drain the man of his chakra, make it possible for him to fight back because of the sudden loss.

This was it! It was happening! He would—

An explosion threw him off his feet. The tornado sliced in half and each side sent careen into trees, destroying the earth. The ground continued to shake even as Naruto scrambled to his feet, barely dodging boulders that fell from the sky.

Among it all, Sasuke stood head bowed, his blade raised in the air and terrifying dark chakra crackling around him. Snapping like a whip at anything that would dare her master. Demanding retribution and blood!

It wasn't possible!

It shouldn't have been! Naruto thought fearfully as he watched chaos unleash before him.

Sasuke had broken through an impenetrable jutsu with just the force of his chakra and his blade.

"Save me from what, Naruto?" Sasuke growled, slowly looking up to reveal his Sharingan. It looked different, the tomas, were crossed and swirling so rapidly. If just for a moment, Naruto felt a touch of fear.

"You can't even answer. How selfish, how pathetic," Sasuke sheeted his sword, eyes disdain and annoyance.

"Go home, Naruto. Go be a hero elsewhere. For I want no part of it." With that Sasuke was gone. Swiftly vanishing with the almost silent hiss.

Naruto felt his kunai fall from his hand,

_How selfish._

_Selfish._

* * *

Harry held in a scream as he pushed his torn flesh together. Rain soaking his back, his hair plastered to his skull. He had hidden Saijun in the hallowed bark of a tree. Would soon comfort him and give as much warmth as he could, but not like this.

Not when he had splinched himself in a bid the escape.

The wounds were deep around his shoulder. Bleeding copious amounts of dark red that almost seemed black.

If he didn't stave off the bleeding, he could possibly bleed to death.

"To-san! To-san!" Saijun cried, Confused and wanting his father. Something that Harry couldn't help with.

"Please—please just work," Harry whispered, tracing unsteady runes into his skin with his own blood. He willed his magic through the butchered symbols, hoping that magic would heed his call.

Suddenly a light green glow spread across his skin, and his wounds began to knit together. Harry would have slumped in relief if it wasn't for the sudden rustling of bushes around him.

He was ready to fight. He hadn't escaped only to be captured in the end!

"Harry!" Haya shouted with tears in her eyes, her clothes ruined as she sprung from the bushes, her slender form wrapping around Harry frame.

"Thank the spirits!" She crumbled breathlessly, holding tight to the young man she had grown fond of.

"H-How did you find me?" Harry shuddered, barely allowing himself to slump in relief. He had apparated blind, escape to…he didn't know where, yet Haya found him.

"I saw Harry, I saw!" She spoke through tears, pulling away from the man with a pained smile. Harry didn't know what to say, and opted to remain silent, carefully pulling Saijun form where he hid him. The child had exhausted himself and simply curled around Harry for comfort.

"Come, Sasuke-sama waits," Haya carefully wiped her tears, pulling at the shocked wizard.

"He's worried, very worried." She whispered, gently guiding Harry through the forest and back to civilization.

"Worried?" Harry whispered, holding tight to the youngest Uchiha.

* * *

He could believe that Sasuke was worried. It was in the way that he stood, how he anxiously looked at the door. As if to restrain himself from leaving to search for what he lost himself.

Moments like these, one could tell how human he truly was, despite his ever-lingering cold disposition.

Harry expected it when he walked through the door. Expected it when Sasuke walked up to him, ever so controlled and took his child into his arms. He expected it, when the man checked his child over, kiss his forehead when he realized all was well.

He expected it when Sasuke took his child to safety and left him in his rooms, Haya looking on with strange eyes as she too left him to rid himself of the filth of the night.

What he did not expect, was as he gently washed the grime from his body in the bath, lost in a strange daze, was for Sasuke to sit there and watch him with unreadable eyes.

Sit and watch as water caressed his naked body. As his bruises and newly healed wounds were revealed.

"You could have escaped. Could have found help with Konoha, after all, I am their enemy," Sasuke whispered. Watching as Harry slowly rose from the bath. As water rippled down his lean form, down lightly muscled and tightly formed thighs that gave way to smooth legs.

Alabaster skin, almost like his. Milky and white, flushed with the heat of the water that clung to his form.

"I could have," Harry did not deny, careful as he stepped out of the bath standing a hair's breadth from the man that proved himself his distraction. Unlike the clan house, the air wasn't hot. There wasn't this stifling heat that could explain why his skin tingled. Why his breath came short and stilted as he stared into Sasuke's dark eyes.

It was like that night before, yet so different. He was vastly aware of the seeming electric current that sizzled through the air. That feeling that left his belly warm and further down arousal stirred. Electric attraction.

Sasuke gently slid his arms around Harry's bare waist. A slow moment that dragged against heated skin and left goosebumps in their wake. A gasp escaped Harry parted lips, pupils slowly blow wide as he breathed in the scent of Sasuke. That crisp cinnamon and spice that left him breathless. Breathless as dexterous fingers slipped from his waist to cup the gentle curve of his ass.

He should have protested. Should have.

Yet here he was, pressed naked against a man fully clothed. Vulnerable to his touch yet wanting more. Wanting him to take a taste of sweet seduction and drunk them both with it.

"To think in the midst of battle—" Harry could hear Sasuke's deep breaths, pants that left him wanting as his fingers curled in Sasuke' s shirt, and the man's lip teasingly brushed his. How, if he would move just a fraction more, his soft lips would touch Sasuke's.

"—that I would think of you. Someone who should mean nothing to me. Someone who should only ever be a duty," There heated breaths mingled, soft sweet breaths that left their chests heaving as Sasuke sunk his fingers into Harry's firm flesh. A teasing of a kiss that lingered against the sensitive skin behind his ear. How his hair stood on end, His heart hammering as he slowly felt himself give to something he knew nothing of.

"A dangerous distraction," Harry couldn't tell who said it. Was it him? Was it the man who held him so close that he felt his heat seep into his body? The man who tilted his chin, and capture his lips in teasing kiss.

Teasing—

Lingering—

Until they allowed themselves to be swept away in a passion that made no sense and all the sense in the same breath. Gentle kisses grew hot and wanting, Fierce and full of fire as Sasuke dared to set him aflame. Stole his breath away and refused to return it, kissing a trail of molten lava down the column of his slender neck.

In and out he breathed. Deep breaths that would not suffice as he was turned away from the bath and pushed flushed against the wall.

A heated wall.

Sasuke was there. Clothes slipping from his shoulders and he raked his fingers along trembling thighs. The supple curve of Harry's ass flush against the part of him that grew stiff with want and wept for what wonders that must come.

Breathy moans. Uncontrolled, yet stifled as Harry bit his lips. Opened himself to feel things he had never felt as a firm hand wrapped around him. Skin dragging against skin. Sensitive to touch and throbbing with every twist of Sasuke's wrist.

Not enough!

But too good as he rocked his hips. Grind his ass against Sasuke's length. Feel the drag of something big, hot slick between the crease of his supple cheeks.

The air was humid. It was hard to breathe and his heart beat like a jackhammer for every touch Sasuke would choose to give him.

He would not beg. His back arched, thighs parted as a tempting hand whispered secrets against his thigh. Teasing where his rim trembled. A place he had never touched himself.

A place no other had touched before.

Hot—

Too hot—

Harry bit his lips. Willing those sounds to remain within him. To stay put as a long finger, slick, so slick pushed inside him. It was a terrible drag of skin that left his shuddering. Left his body twisting away as Sasuke worked his length. Forced him to feel pleasure.

Slick and wet.

Trembling.

Harry almost screamed when those fingers slipped inside. Stretching him taught. Twisting and teasing at his sensitive walls. Leaving him a panting mess, his chest heaving.

He squirmed in place. Not knowing if he should push back into terrible heat. Sasuke's length pressed against him. Or forward into that tight heat as Sasuke fought to pull everything he was from him!

"Let me hear you," Sasuke would whisper heat against his ear. He would increase his languid strokes. Bring Harry to the edge as he clawed at the walls and desperately rolled his hips.

Heights of sensitivity as the coil within Harry would rapidly spin and threaten to break free. Only for the rush of fire to be so suddenly stilled and a sob clawing its way from Harry's throat for being denied.

"No," Harry responds through desperate breaths, even as another finger would threaten to have him spill over the edge, as impossible as it was with Sasuke's firm grip around his throbbing length.

Sasuke would kiss along his neck. Tease at the skin, both slick with sweat as he fought to not just take what he wanted.

He would throb and wish to bury himself in the impossible heat that his fingers plundered. Feel that pulsing vice around him as Harry would take all of his temptation and consume it like the temptress he was.

"Let me hear you, Baby Doll," Sasuke whispered again, heart racing as he increased his pace. Dragging desperate stifled moans from the wizard. Feeling the spark of electricity that ran across their skins and had Harry crying out for the heavens.

"I…said, no," Harry whispered, even as drugged on pleasure as he was. His sweet desperate voice tore at Sasuke's control. He didn't want control!

He slipped his fingers from that tight heat. Watching as that pink skin slick with oil stayed stretched for him. Calling him. Asking to take what could be his.

That was his.

Harry couldn't hold back! He couldn't. Not with the broad tip of Sasuke's pulsing length breaching his sensitive rim. Slowly plundering and stretching him wide. So wide, so tight!

Full!

Too full!

He gasped. Tears prickling at his eyes as he rolled his hips and thrust desperately in Sasuke's hand. And maybe it was the resounding groan as Sasuke sunk so deep within him. Maybe it was the overwhelming feeling as his legs shook and he arched his back to push his ass flush against Sasuke's overheated sweat-slicked skin.

He didn't know, but he cried out loud. Breathy moans unbidden and loud. Crying out his pleasure as strong hands held him by his waist and forced him onto an engorged length. One that pulsed deep inside him! Raw and two hot as it dragged against his sensitive walls.

Slick and wet and skin slapped against skin. Almost obscene as they stuck together. Grind together. A terrible lust that would not be quenched!

Harry scrambled for purchase at the wall. He didn't know what to do with his hands! And maybe that's why he bent his arm to grab tight at Sasuke's hair. Screaming his pleasure. Tightening like a vice around Sasuke that the man's thrust actually stuttered and passion filled shouts escaped Sasuke's lips.

What once was soft was no longer. Sasuke worked him beyond the realms of reality.

Forcing him to feel!

How terrible their distraction.

Lips crashed against lips. Ravenous and wanting! Unable to pull away from the other as they chased their completion.

Toes curled, his body seized, and Sasuke's grip grew tight.

Hot!

It was too hot! Harry's body jerked, load moans escaping before he could bite his lips tight, the spring released and in flashing white burning embers he found release.

Sasuke wasn't too far behind. Cursing and unrestrained as he pulled Harry's ass against him. Chasing his release as full round cheeks bounced against his skin. Bruised red and raw from the abuse, a pink rim stretching around his wet length,

How obscene it looked for Harry to be stretched so wide around him.

"Fuck!" Sasuke cursed, breath freezing in his chest as he released. Groaning as Harry leached from him everything he was and stood for!

Labored breaths and overheated skins, they both slumped to the floor. Sasuke slipping out of Harry slick and sensitive.

Harry after a moment would struggle to his feet, only to stumble to the floor. Feeling raw and out of it as his body still shook with unimaginable pleasure. He wouldn't fight it when Sasuke would help him up, looking worse for wear himself.

He wouldn't fight it when Sasuke would kiss him. Languid kisses that would steal his breath away yet again. Both their chest heaving as they finally approached the crossroads.

The question remained. What path would they now take?


	11. Koi no yokan

_There is something seemingly unfathomable in the world. The talk of souls and their existence. How they came to be, and why they exist. Stories of a soul that had always been complete until the gods began to fear and ripped these souls apart. Forever wondering in a vain attempt to find that part that had always been missing. It would be hopeless of course, the tales of soulmates are but a myth. Stories coined by men and women alike to_ sate _the longing within, the yearning for something or someone,_ man _couldn’t quite tell._

 _But…despite this, despite the dismissal of soul mates. There is a moment. A moment when times stops for a second, you meet a stranger. Someone you know nothing about. There is a feeling so unexplainable despite efforts to ignore it. The feeling leaves and time_ starts _again until for some reason it returns. Nagging, resistant to any attempt to stifle its cries._

_Koi no yokan: A Japanese untranslatable word. It refers to instinct. The knowledge that you will inevitably fall in love with this person you just met. This person you know nothing about. Far from love at first sight, because it is not. Love, at first sight, does not exist, but it is the knowledge that there will be love. Whether both halves of one soul wishes it or not._

_Like a raging fire that cannot be quenched, or the shock of lightning that streak across the sky in the midst of a storm._

* * *

 

Sasuke woke with a start. Heart hammering, skipping a few beats. His body slick with sweat. It wasn’t a feeling he could easily explain. Like someone had thrust their arm through his chest and ripped out his heart in but a second. Its echoing thud loud in his ear until even that would fade to nothingness.

He remained stiff and still. Senses searching for the threat that did not exist, unwilling to release him from his captivity.

 Not yet.

Outside birds chattered playfully. Greeting the sun that slowly rose over the horizon of the sea in the not so far distance. The wind brought along its salty aroma, tickling at his nose and burning at his throat. His heart was still racing, paralyzed in a fear he couldn’t explain, a sense of dread settling within him.

Quick silent breaths. Not hyperventilating, but pretty close as images flashed across his mind. It was a dream he had, or a memory maybe. Rivers of blood, lonely deserted alleys. Broken windows that swung from their hinges and worn curtains lost to time, covered in dust and cobwebs. He was but a child, small and terrified.

Running in circles, the bag his mother had given him swinging at his side as he just kept on running with no seeming destination. He could actually hear his own breaths now. Heavy and quick, even with his eyes wide open and the roof of their new getaway with less than clear focus.

_“Disgrace!”_

_“Weak!”_

_“Won’t you avenge us, Sasuke?!”_

Like the threatening hiss of vipers, the voices muddled his mind. They echoed and ripped through him as he saw himself as a child continue to run. Trying to get away only to be tangled in the invisible chains of duty and loyalty.

_“Distracted.”_

_“You’ve completed one duty, what of the other?”_

He couldn’t breathe! Why couldn’t he breathe! He was shouting, he knew he was, but not a sound escaped his lips. He was helpless and the bitter taste of the defeat made him sick! He could see Itachi in his mind, his blade poised over his parents. He watched that sharp blade pierce through his mother’s chest. Watched as she fell lifeless to floor, crimson blood pooling around her. The thick scent of iron filled the air and in the distance, a hound howled at the night sky.

She died with a smile on her blood stained lips.

_“You’ve always been weak Sasuke. You grow attachments so easily, forgetting your duty to kill and renew the Uchiha with the stain of my blood.”_

Itachi’s voice clawed at his soul.  Finding the weakness like he had always done and exploiting it for his own twisted gain.

  _“The blue-eyed blond would have stopped you. You couldn’t bear to fall into the thrall of revenge if he were by your side. After all, wouldn’t you then be a monster in his eyes? His precious love a heartless killer....”_

_“And now that green-eyed vixen…I’m sure it will be the same. He will change your mind. He’ll corrupt you and prevent you from completing your duty!”_

Blood was rushing in his ear now. Like the turbulent waves of a sea amidst a hurricane. Water that beat against the solid wood of a ship that teetered precariously on its side. Wavering, wavering yet it wouldn’t falter!

_“Sasuke!”_

What was that?!

Sasuke gasped. Sitting up abruptly when he suddenly regained the use of his limbs. Beads of sweat rolling down his back, his body running hot as if he had suffered a fever throughout the night. His lips were parted, panting heavily. Enough that his chest and shoulders heaved for every breath he took in and released.

There it was again!

Something had released him from his turbulent thoughts. Ripped him out of the nightmare he was trapped in even though awake. It was a gentle touch. Cold and firm. Very much alive. Glancing to the side a breath left him, and the ringing that had begun in his ear faded with the sound of waves crashing against worn rocks in the distance.

A pale hand was wrapped around his own. Long fingers, elegant like those of an entertainer strumming the beautiful chords from an exotic koto. His eyes trailed up a pale arm to a soft face. Pretty kiss-swollen lips parted in sleep, dark lashes fanning across high cheeks, flushed red. Red like the night before as the man had breathed out his pleasure for him.

That’s right. After they had…after he had…

He had lifted the man off his shaky legs. Laid him in bed and hovered over him, staring into half-lidded green eyes. He had been tempted again. To capture those devil-red lips with his own. To consume Harry as if he was his long-lost lover, and take from him everything. To breathe and live Harry, while he wrapped smooth long legs around his naked waist.

He should have left then. The sound of crickets loud in his ear and the night air still as adrenalin calmed and faded to a tempered simmer. He should have! And it irked him that there was no explanation as to why he had remained.

Harry had been tucked under the covers, soft breaths escaping as he so easily slipped into a deep sleep. Curled around himself with the sheets pooling at his waist, teasing at the curve of his ass, bruised from Sasuke’s abuse.

There was a possessive thrill with the knowledge that he was the one that did that to Babydoll. That he had wrung those sweet moans from his pliant body even though the vixen would deny it. To know that through it all, he hadn’t dominated that body. Nor completely.

No, he hadn’t because as much as he had taken from Harry, Harry had taken from him.

He had slipped into that single bed, strangely tired after sex. More tired than he had ever been with anyone else. Harry’s soft breaths caressing his neck, a strange hum of energy between them. Rhythmic and soothing as he found himself dragged into a deep slumber. Deeper than so many in his lifetime.

_“And now that green-eyed vixen…I’m sure it will be the same. He will change your mind. He’ll corrupt you and prevent you from completing your duty!”_

Itachi’s mockery echoed in his mind. Repeating over and over again. It resonated so much with him that he could almost feel himself being dragged back to the torture that his mind had conjured. Almost, because Harry’s hand tightened around his again. As if to ground him in reality.

“You’re not breathing,” Sasuke blinked owlishly at Harry’s sudden whisper. So he wasn’t asleep then, even if his eyes had remained closed.

“I’m not breathing?” Sasuke didn’t even realize he was doing it. The way his other hand curled under Harry’s chin, his thumb tracing slow hypnotic patterns against velvet lips.

“And you’re making this weird wheezing sound that’s keeping me awake,” Harry’s grouching almost seemed playful. Even as he sighed and tightened his hand around Sasuke’s for a moment. Maybe it was surliness of the situation that made Sasuke stiffen. Watching his now still fingers on Harry’s lips in confusion.

“And you kick…like a donkey. Hee-haw,” Harry drawled.  A huff of laughter suddenly escaped Sasuke’s lips. Stiff but freeing when he listened to Harry’s ridiculous mockery. It honestly frightened Sasuke, enough that he abruptly stopped, heart, hammering in his chest.

He looked down to see just as startled green eyes staring into his own. Harry seemingly searched his eyes and for a moment it was as if they had been caught in some spell. His chakra hummed underneath his skin and oddly he could sense an answering hum from Harry’s warm body. The one pressed close to him for how small the bed was.

An answering hum that was not chakra but was just as alive. Beckoning, whispering…wrapping around his being.

Sasuke swiftly pulled away from the man, his hand suddenly chilled from the lack of warmth when Harry’s soft fingers had been intertwined with his own. His back was facing Harry and his feet hanging off the edge of the bed.

“Last night, it was—”

“Just sex,” Harry interrupted, sitting up himself, pulling the sheets around his naked body. The morning air felt chilly against his bruised skin, and Sasuke could just imagine how the rising sun would set Harry’s skin ablaze. It would probably glow. Inviting all that could see it to take a taste. To leave deep dark marks of possession upon a beautiful blank canvas.

“—unexplainable,” Sasuke corrected. An unreadable emotion in his voice as he stared over his shoulder. Sasuke could see it in Harry’s eyes too, even though he tried valiantly to hide it.

“I’m not one for denial, Harry. Last night when I took you I wanted it. When I thrust myself within your pliant body I wanted it. Exhausted and wrung dry, your lips on my own, I still wanted it.” Sasuke had always prided himself on being straightforward. Always to the point because beating around the bush had never achieved anything in his 23 years of life.

“You see  _Baby Doll_ , somewhere along the line from me capturing you, to having my way with you last night you got under my skin. So no, it wasn’t just sex,” Sasuke scoffed. He was angry with this entire situation, the fact that Harry just sat there, green eyes boring into his back without saying a word, irritated him even more.

“And now? Do you still… want it?” Harry whispered, the silk sheets slipping from his shoulder as slowly moved towards Sasuke. His arms encircled broad shoulders, trailed down a muscled chest, his naked skin pressed against Sasuke’s back.

The heat was rising again. Both of their breaths hitched. The embers of arousal that had dimmed for a moment threatening to ignite before both their eyes. Was Harry even aware of what he was doing? Or was this the strange pull of an unexplainable connection between the two.

Like streaks of lighting that sparked, ignited and set fire to the heavens. An intoxicating type of  _hell_.

Sasuke captured Harry’s chin in his strong hand. Holding tight when for a second as he pulled him impossibly close. The sheets pooling below a thin waist almost like flowing water, teasing enough that one’s skin was set a flame, beckoning any man to soothe and make still a siren’s call.

He could make out the bruises his hands had left there. How as Harry’s thighs parted and the sheet slipped between them, hiding the steady blooming arousal he himself felt, the evidence of his loss of control taunted him. Still moist. Wet. Leaving him wanting.

 _Fuck_! Baby Doll, what was he  _doing_ to him?!

He pushed Harry against the soft bed. Falling between his parted thighs, not caring for Harry’s startled gasp as he whispered harshly in the man’s ear.

“ _Yes_! Is that what you want to hear,  _Baby Doll_?!  Want to know how much I want to imprint myself in every nook and crevice inside of you and it has  _nothing_  to do with just sex!” Raw. Sasuke knew his voice was raw. And yet Harry shuddered underneath him, glaring just as fierce. His nails digging into the biceps of his skin, so aware of the flimsy piece of sheet that separated naked skin from naked skin!

“Then it’s simple. Help me and it goes away. Help me and the distraction is removed from your path and you can pursue your duty without inhibition,” Harry panted, barely holding in a moan as he let him himself the raw unbridled heat that radiated between his thighs. The one raised from the pits of torturous as his magic sang and twisted inside him and left him breathless.

Almost on impulse, their hips grind together. Even through the flimsy sheets, Sasuke could feel the heavy weight of his length drag against Harry’s. Visions of the vixen caught up in unbridled pleasure, supple ass pushing back on a thickness that shouldn’t even have fit. The hypnotic arch of a pale back, green eyes dazed but fierce. Snapping hips, the slick slap of skin—

Virgin. He could tell, even though he couldn’t explain how.

It was tempting to sink his teeth into the soft flesh of Harry’s neck.  _Dark and tempting_  as he rolled his hips. Grind harder. Listened to every hitch of breath as the heat rose, and sweat rolled down his back.

“What say you, Sas—uke,” How did he do it? How did Harry manage to sound so koi? How, when he played the game of manipulation so well. For what else was this? He was above using his son against him, but not above using his body it seemed. And when had he ever been someone so easily swayed by base desires, even though he was convinced there was more to it than that. Convinced that Harry thought the same for how half-lidded eyes regarded him, biting supple lips, and soft pants escaping his lips.

“You should be afraid, Baby Doll. Afraid, because you play your little games, twist the snake around your body and invite him to feast upon you without restraint. With thinly held control.” Sasuke hissed before abruptly pulling away. The shock of cool air startling that Harry actually yelped.

“Our next destination is Orochimaru’s base. You’ll follow my lead every step of the way. Am I clear?” He felt like he couldn’t breathe, and it was for totally different reasons than being trapped in a waking nightmare.  Harry, he had to go. He couldn’t allow something as foolish as this cloud his judgment. He had one duty and one duty only. It was to avenge the Uchiha Clan! He wasn’t willing to explore whatever connection that reeled him in like a fish on a hook. No, Baby Doll had to go—

“You’re doing it again. Not breathing,” Harry’s soft voice ripped through his turbulent thoughts. He sparred Harry a look. The man held the sheets tight to his chest once again. Denying him the right to see what not hours ago had belonged to him, even not completely.

“Breathe, Sasuke. Breathe,” If Sasuke didn’t know better he would almost think Harry was concerned. That he knew about his torment, the weight of responsibility that rested on his shoulders, warring with the temptation to embrace sweet freedom.

Sasuke said nothing. There was nothing to be said and truthfully he didn’t want to stare into those consuming green eyes. He didn’t want to be lost in them because for some reason, this particular morning he couldn’t even hear himself think. He walked away, uncaring of his nudity as he slipped past the open doors that lead to the bathroom.

Sasuke didn’t even realize that he had actually listened to Harry. That he was breathing. Slow breaths in and out. And for every release, some of the tightly coiled tension left him. His unwavering focused slowly returned to him and the noise inside his head, Itachi’s voice, faded to silence.

* * *

 A man raced through the thick forest. Thighs burning, lungs screaming from the strain and running a dangerously high fever. He had escaped! He had finally escaped, and as he licked his busted blood crusted lips, he laughed. The sting barely registered among the torrent of pain that bombarded him, he felt the small trace of hope bubble within him.

He had heard his prisoners talking about some man the fiend Orochimaru was interested in. Runes were whispered in confusion, some ninja muttering that maybe they were like seals. Harry! It must have been Harry, and that meant their mission wasn’t lost. Harry had crossed over into this dangerous and strange reality. It meant that it was one more step in returning home and defeating Voldemort!

The man staggered for a moment. His feet feeling as if it would give up on him as he braced against the bark of one of the many tall trees that made up the never-ending forest. What was once brilliant red hair was dull and matted. It hung limply around his ears, thinning in some places. His breaths were forced, his chest rattling as he desperately gulped down air, heavily scarred hand resting on his chest.

It was obvious that most of the scars did not heal well. His thumb stuck out at an odd angle. Obviously having been broken and had ultimately healed wrong.

“Come on! Come on! Harrys out there! Pull yourself together and find him!” Ron cursed himself. Voice a disturbing mix of scratchy and hoarse that spoke to months of torture.

“—and Hermione, Merlin! Hermione!” He was sobbing now. Hot tears rolling down his cheeks as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. He felt like he would heave. What horrors did Hermione go through?! If only she hadn’t made contact with that man!

He had warned her about him! Something hadn’t felt right, but she dismissed his pleas as ingrained paranoia.

They had found clues to locating that power only Harry could wield. Gryffindor’s temple that held all the answers. She sought ways to find this temple, seeking those knowledgeable in obscure history. It led her right to Orochimaru who convinced her he knew the way.

He did know the way. At least, no, he had documents that revealed the way. Hermione was smart but sometimes she let things get away from her in her enthusiasm to find answers. She revealed too much, and now that man knew of Harry and his connections to whatever he wanted up in Gryffindor temple himself.

He and Hermione were to be leverage once Harry was in his possession. They were to be used to force Harry to do the man’s biding.

“Come, you can do this! You just need to find shelter and medical treatment. You will find Harry, you’re so close!” the man whispered harshly to himself, stifling his sobs as he stumbled away. There was a village some miles away, he couldn’t remember how many but…

He just had to keep moving. He would keep moving and he would find the village in time. He would get Harry, save Hermione and do whatever they needed to do at Gryffindor temple to find their way back home and finish the war once and for all!

* * *

 

“You see, Harry. Itachi Uchiha killed Sasuke’s entire family when he was so young. He witnessed it all. He was so alone and by himself after that. So hurt. He sought revenge, still seeks revenge.” Haya spoke, wiping the tears that brimmed at the corner of her eyes. She sat on the verandah of the rickety house they had sought shelter after fleeing the village that had come under attack by ninjas.

Harry hummed in acknowledgement. Wincing when he shifted on the cushion Haya had provided for him. He was uncomfortable, to say the least. He was very sore below, maybe bordering on a little pain whenever he moved. Saijun was cradled in his arms, fast asleep with his thumb in his mouth. The poor child was exhausted from the night before and obviously experienced a restless sleep if what Haya said was true. 

The baby boy shifted, brows furrowed only to relax when Harry soothed him with a gentle touch.

“Saijun is Rin and Uchiha-sama’s son. She was Ai’s sister and the leader of our little clan. I don’t know the specifics but I know she agreed to conceive Saijun to allow for the continuation of Uchiha Clan. Its revival, one of his duties as he puts it. It’s almost as if Uchiha-sama expects to die soon.”

Harry remained silent. Carding his hands through the baby’s soft hair as he watched Sasuke in the distance. The man was practising some form of Kata he thought. Similar to something he had seen in the muggle world once but hadn’t paid much attention to.

“Where’s Ai, Haya?” Harry waited through the silence that settled over them. Waited as he watched Sasuke’s carded muscles shift with every stance. How the man held himself with so much control and moved through the paces fluidly.

“Ai…she’s no longer with us.” Haya fiddled with the hem of her kimono, biting her lips and refusing to look at Harry.

“There was a time I told you that Sasuke sometimes can be a cruel man. The truth is, it’s not that he is cruel, but the trauma he lived through…the thing he has done has led him to see the world differently.”

Saijun whined in Harry’s hold. Pulling at Harry’s cotton shirt with his tiny hands and looking up with wide watery eyes. Sasuke’s eyes, Harry noted to himself as he caressed one chubby cheek.

“She was the one who caused that attack then. She let Konoha and the other ninja know where Sasuke was. He killed her.” Harry put the pieces together. He could imagine Ai pleading for her life. How terrified she was, begging for mercy, shouting how much she loved Sasuke while he stood over her with cold steel and dead eyes.

“He was merciful! You must understand, Harry! Uchiha-sama is not a—”

“You don’t have to explain. I understand. She was a threat, she endangered the life of his son…” Harry trailed off, poking at Saijun’s brows and causing the baby to go crossed eyed. He wasn’t the parental type, not really. He liked babies well enough he guessed but wasn’t falling over himself for them.

“So he eliminated the threat. I don’t agree with it, but I understand it. I understand the rage he must have felt and the need to protect what was left of his clan the only way he knew how! The only way that made sense to him.” Harry whispered. Sticking out his tongue at Saijun who giggled, even though he still looked troubled and still on the verge of crying.

Harry could hear Sasuke’s low grunts as he moved through his katas. Blocking out the world for a moment and becoming lost in the movements.

“And what do you think about his duty. He’s going to kill his brother one day. He’ll return from a battlefield covered in the blood of his kin and changed for what he has done,” Haya probed. Harry honestly didn’t see where Haya was going with her chain of questions.  What did it matter what he thought? It was Sasuke’s duty, not his.  Sasuke was the one who watched his family murdered by someone he more and likely loved. Probably still loved.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? What I think I mean, in the end, its Sasuke’s path to walk, not mine. And before he even walks it I would have returned to the wizarding world to find my friends, and complete my own duty.” Harry mused, standing with Saijun when the child began to cry.

Pain raced up his spine for the sudden shift. Sasuke had really done a number on him. Honestly, it might have been better to just rest it off instead of ambling about without out due cause.

“You two, you make quite a pair you know,” Haya smiled softly, amused as she watched Harry tried desperately to calm Saijun without luck.

“So similar but very much different,” She continued, enjoying Harry’s conflicted look.  She could see it in his eyes. He knew that there was something between him and Sasuke that nothing do with using the other for their own gain.

 “Sasuke is my capture turned ally, and last night no matter what he says or implies was just sex. It just happened. And maybe it was the worry and frustration. The adrenalin pumping because I saved his son. It was just sex!” Harry insisted, covering Saijun’s ears. Not that the boy would hear a word with his constant crying.

“I didn’t ask about your se—”

“Besides, maybe it’s good it happened. It’s out of our system and now we can focus and what is truly important. There isn’t room for whatever  _this_ , is!” Harry rambled on.

“Yet, you were there when he was trapped in his nightmares. You brought him back…even tried to calm him in your own odd way.” Before Harry could even ask how Haya was tapping at her eyes.

“He wasn’t breathing. It’s not like I hate him enough to watch him suffocate in his misery.” Harry dismissed, already walking towards Sasuke. When Saijun got testy, only his father could really calm him down he had realized.

Haya watched Sasuke stop his routine. Watched how he took his son in his arms, without protest. Bouncing him in the air as Harry stood and watched in wonder, a small smile on his lips. Saijun would giggle loud and bright, waving his hand about before scrambling to get into Harry’s arms. The man wouldn’t protest even uncomfortable as he was.

Sasuke would just let it happen. Ruffling his son’s hair before sparing Harry an unreadable look that Harry would miss. Said man content to sit, back braced against a tree making funny faces at the child.

“I don’t think you hate him at all, Harry,” Haya sighed happily.

* * *

 

“It wasn’t just sex,” Harry whispered, back turned to Sasuke when the man silently entered their shared room.

Sasuke, of course, didn’t say anything. Removing shurikens and kunais all landing on a table with a loud clunk.

“Sasuke, it wasn’t just sex,” Harry glared sitting up in the bed, as Sasuke silently sat on the edge and removed his shoes and ignored him.

“I—look, we both know that this morning was—well,”

“Tongue-tied, Baby doll?” Sasuke drawled, and If Harry hadn’t been around the man long enough he wouldn’t have picked up on the amusement.

“Don’t call me that! Look, I just—I know it wasn’t just sex but not why. I don’t know you! I don’t but here I am. Lying in bed and wanting…” Harry trailed off, fiddling with his the sheets. He could feel Sasuke’s eyes on him. That intense gaze. He swallowed tightly before looking up.

“It’s not you alone. I want it too…I want you to touch me. I want you to run your hands between my thighs…” For every whispered word Sasuke had moved closer. Like a predator stalking his prey. Intense. Close enough that he was a breath away from Harry.

“Go on, “Sasuke whispered, eyes trained on Harry’s red lips before slowly trailing up the man’s body to startling green eyes.

“I want to taste you. Know what it feels like to have so much of you inside me even though I already know. I want to consume you as you consume me, and pretend that I don’t feel anything. When I feel everything and more.” Their lips hovered. Wanting, barely touching. A whisper, teasing and so close. Harry swallowed, before resting his hands on Sasuke’s chest. Making to push him away or pull him closer, he didn’t know.

“I want to know you. But to know you means you are my distraction and I am yours. And what’s worse is that I don’t know why it wasn’t just sex. I don’t know why it felt like a dream and a reality at the same time when I can still feel you inside of me.” Harry finally revealed. For a moment they remained where they were, Noone moving an inch forward. It could be so easy, to capture trembling lips.

Easy for Sasuke to slide his hands under that silk Yukata. Easy for Harry to pull Sasuke on top of him and sink into a breathless—

“Go to bed, Babydoll,” Sasuke whispered, making the decision for them by pulling away. He resumed his earlier activity, already out of his clothes and getting ready to rest.

Harry silently watched the man, deciding that he had said enough for the night. He turned away from Sasuke, pulling the sheets over his shoulder as he listened to Sasuke move about.

Nothing made sense. It was one night and nothing made sense.

In the end, it didn’t matter. He would be on his way to Orochimaru come morning, and Sasuke would help him find what he needed. He prayed to anyone who was listening that Orochimaru would have the key to his return home. Otherwise, he didn’t know what he would do.


	12. Loyalty and Fairytales; gives way to duty

_“This time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.”_

* * *

 

Silence.

A sombre mood as the skies slowly bled to black. Dark heavy clouds ushered in by frigid cold, and far away flocks of crows fled for safety. Lightning clashed against thunder, the heavens shook and slowly fine shards like precious silver mined years ago, descended from the heavens.

Drop after drop.

Steady and unwavering, as the dry earth was painted in abstract dots that soon turned to pools that rippled with every shake of the earth.

Silence.

Until it no longer was!

Spells whizzed through the air! The smell of burning fires and melting iron filling the lungs as man woman and child fled for higher ground. In droves of black, like a raging river of molten tar, Death Eater’s invaded Diagon Alley. Their silver masks frozen in horrific grins that shun in what little light there was.

Chaos!

Stalls were blasted to bits! Men fell to their feet, trampled by the stampede of wizarding folk that desperately tried to get away. Crippling screams of horror escaped frozen lips. Acid green light that exploded against old brick walls, the mark of the killing curse being fired.

Children were bawling. Cowering in fear as they plastered themselves against their mothers who desperately hid in darkened alleyways, their wands held before them. Trembling and unsteady. Their nervous eyes flickered about as their hearts threatened to tear through their chest.

Should they run?!

Or stay put?!

The decision would be stolen from them as Death Eater’s pulled them from their hiding place by their hair. The sound of chunks tearing away from the harsh grips and the women crying in pain with echo in the minds of any who could spare the time to care. Their children would wail in fright, and the last image they would see was of said children crumbling to their deaths by way of startling green light.

Magic stained the air. Burning at the nose as Diagon Alley fell, and above them, the sky rumbled ominously.

“Confringo!” The spell so easily escaped Remus’ lips, exploding fire jetting from his wand. His enemies erupting in flames flailing about in horror as they desperately tried to douse the flames.  It would be to no avail as they fell to their deaths in heaps of burning flesh. Remus paid them no mind, fighting through the crowd to get to his target. He was well past the point of guilt through battle. Everyman had to fight to survive. The question of morality would have to be left at the door till night came and he could lose himself in mindless guilt and shame.

 Overhead, he could hear Kingsley shouts of Deprimo. The accompanying sound of wild wind let loose and ripping through Death Eaters upon the roofs followed after the utterance of said spell. Remus still pushed on, fighting the bone-deep tiredness and hunger. His parched, sore throat having gone without water for days on end.

Water that the wizarding world seemingly had no access to, for every pool would turn into blood in the blink of an eye. He licked desperately at the drops that would fall from the sky. Rain, a precious commodity, until it would be stolen away by the cruelty that was the Dark Lord. It was only a matter of time till the Scourge would come into play.

He never thought he would say it, but curse the Gryffindor family for ever creating such a spell! Curse Voldemort for finding said obscure spell and unleashing it upon the innocent of their world!

“Expelliarmus! Portego Horribilus!” Remus gasped in fright, heart racing as he was harshly pulled back by an attack that would have killed him! He desperately searched for the person who had protected him by disarming his would be killer. The one who had just as quickly erected a shield for the oncoming wave of dark spells that soared through the air by surrounding Death Eaters!

“Keep moving, Lupin! We have to get to Gringotts before Voldemort lays siege!” It was Draco Malfoy! His blonde hair was a mess. Covered in as much soot as his pale skin, smeared with blood. His icy eyes were wild and focused. No one could mistake the dangerous set of determination that sat there. The knowledge that this man would do anything, would _kill_ if only to see his mission complete!

Remus, a man well within his forties stumbled back at the realisation, faltered if only for a second—

“ _Move_ , Lupin! Potter’s return depends on this!” Draco spat, running head-on into the crowd of Death Eaters. Spell after spell being cast! Downed for a moment as the enemies magic tore through his body and blood ran freely from his side. He staggered for only a second till the cursed words left his lips and his enemies fell like flies—

“Avada Kedavra!”—

“ _Move you, bloody idiot_!” Draco raged, and maybe it was the set of hatred in those eyes that set Remus in motion again. Or maybe it was the knowledge that this 21-year-old would not falter even for a second. He didn’t know what it was but he found himself tearing through the crowds, running full speed as he fought to get at Gringotts doors at the far end of Diagon Alley!

It’s like Draco had said! Harry’s return depended on this!

* * *

 

There!

It was in sight! Remus could feel the soaring joy that bubbled within his chest as he ran as if the hounds of hell were on his tail! Lumbering over marble steps hundreds of Death Eater’s, traitors to the Unspeakable guild and enslaved goblins, struggled with the ancient artefact known as the Veil.

They slowly ascended, fingers buried in the beautifully carved stone. It resembled greatly some mysterious alcove, with a shroud of wispy black silk that flowed like water as it fluttered in the wind.

Behind him, he could hear Draco Malfoy and Kingsley close behind, and further back the rest of the Order!

They would retrieve the veil! They would ensure Harry could return to them and put a stop to this madness. The sky rumbled again, and a wave of lightning scattered across the sky like broken glass!

He would ensure that Harry returned to them—

“Petrificus Totalus!”

“Wingardium Leviosa!” The Order’s voice’s blended into one. Spells unseen, escaping their wands, yet no one could mistake the distinct smell of burning magic in the air.

They had succeeded!

They had—

In horror, they watched as a shield so easily rippled around the Death Eaters and the veil. Watched Voldemort who was stood at the very top of the stairs, wand casually held in his right hand, his head tilted to the sky. He turned towards them, and red eyes regarded with mockery. Thin serpentine lips stretched in a cruel smile that chilled every man and woman to their bones.

“So you may know, there is no one like me on all the earth,” His voice was but a whisper that somehow carried over the rumbling thunder. Remus watched in fear as the skies grew even darker. Darker than midnight, the hum of magic strong and deafening as the ground shook. The heavens opened and upon them descended hail that erupted in flames.

Voldemort spread his arms wide. Head tilted to the sky once more, the frigidness of the air blazingly seeping into the sickly pale skin of his sunken cheeks.

“-emus! Remus, the battle is lost, come!” Kingsley shouted as the Order apparated to safety. Remus could hear the tortured screams that were cut off just as quickly as they had begun. He watched as the hail descend that ripped the earth apart! Watched as fire seemingly spread from impossibly large hail to set their world alight!

“Remus!” the sound of his name was lost among the chaos. He watched as the Death Eater’s ushered the veil behind the impenetrable golden walls of Gringotts bank.

He watched as Harry’s return was stolen from them!

“Remus!”

He had failed.

* * *

 

Voldemort observed through silted eyes as his Death Eater’s carefully lowered the great antique that truly held the faith of the war he had raged in its ghostly shawl of silk. It thundered against the marble floors of the grand bank's halls. The sound echoing on end as it flittered through the many rooms and tunnels of Gringotts. The soft silk that held so much mystery fluttered in a non-existent wind. Seducing one and all to fall through its fold to an existence none would ever survive.

Unless a Gryffindor by blood.

Beside him Bellatrix cackled in glee, sensing her master’s pleasure. And why wouldn’t he feel pleasure? Malfoy and that muggle-born witch had sought to foil his plans by handing Potter some unknown advantage beyond the veil.

The Veil. It was all about the veil.

“And he shall have the power the Dark Lord knows not… pity, it seems I know, after all, precious little Harry,” Voldemort crooned, circling the veil with predatory glee. It pulsed with ancient twisted magic. Calling to his very soul, he could barely hold back the moan of pleasure as it poked at his stores of magic. Feeding the greed and chaos inside. Willing him to walk through to his death.

Claim it for himself. A trap like any other. Voldemort laughed, stepping away from his would-be seducer.

“You shall be sealed oh mischievous veil. Who will then stop me if the prophesied saviour cannot even cross your exalted threshold again? Trapped in a world that is his own, yet not.” Voldemort ran a long nail along the artfully carved stone.

“Come, bring me the blood of Gryffindor! I shall seal this path tonight, and within days the world will truly bow before thine reckoning!” Voldemort hissed, robes snapping against his bare feet. Death Eater’s scrambled to complete the order, making way for a Goblin who stiffly walked before Voldemort with a small clay jar of blood.

It was obvious from the goblin’s stiff movements that the order was against his will. But even stemming from a warrior race as he was, he was subject to Voldemort’s Imperius curse.

The goblin offered the jar to Voldemort, removing the lid to reveal the thick blood that had been kept preserved in the vaults of Gringotts. Upon Godric Gryffindor’s death, many parts of the man’s body had been salvaged without the explicit permission of his surviving line. His body was desecrated before he was given a proper burial upon a ritual pyre.

They all watched as Voldemort dipped long fingers into the jar, blood dripping from said fingers as he held them in the air. Without flourish, he began to trace unknown runes upon the stone support of the veil.

They were precise, no room for error, and as Voldemort stepped back to admire his work, he whispered familiar words which had fallen from Harry Potter’s lips so many times in battle. Though uttered in a daze, the wizard then, unaware of what he had done.

“Tu velim mortem,” Black smoke curled around the runes that suddenly pulsed with unimaginable power. Death Eater’s screamed in horror as the smoke cloaked their forms and stole their magic, life force and souls. For each life that was taken the runes glowed and pulsed. The black silk of the Veil turned an ashy grey. It dried out and turned to ash in but a second, leaving behind an empty archway and many dead wizards.

Bellatrix, the only one who had been spared, clapped in glee. Dancing and singing in her Master’s victory.

“Master has won! Master's reign is sealed!” She sang, crooked wide as she twirled on the balls of her feet. Dancing among the bodies of her comrades.

“So long, Harry Potter. It seems that we shall never again meet,” Voldemort smiled a terrible smile, the echoes of Bellatrix’s song in his ear.

* * *

 

Harry cringed as Saijun’s wails echoed loud in the morning air. It was barely the break of dawn, crickets were still chirping and the wind was ice cold. Sasuke stood before Haya, relinquishing his son to the woman’s hold as he kissed the baby boy’s forehead.

It was such a loving gesture, even when Sasuke’s dark eyes remained seemingly emotionless. Perhaps it was still himself to not give in to the child’s cries.

“To! To!” Saijun cried, big fat tears rolling down chubby cheeks as he watched his father step away from him. He reached out to be held but was denied as Sasuke stepped further back with a small shake of his head.

“To!” The youngest Uchiha whimpered, lips wobbling, eyes as dark as his father, looking on in betrayal when Sasuke refused yet again.

“He’s your duty now, you do understand that, Haya. You have the faith of the Uchiha clan—”

“In my hands, I know, Uchiha-sama,” Haya spoke softly, tightening her hold on the child who fought her at every step. Her brown eyes flickered over to Harry who watched them with an unreadable emotion. His hands twitched at his side, green eyes trained on the squirming child. Lips moving as if he would say something, but one glance at Sasuke’s back and he thought better of it.

“You will not contact me unless absolutely necessary. No one must know who he is, no one must know that I am his father. The rules are as they were before—”

“Saijun is without a father. He is my sister’s child and that of a simple fisherman, who was a retired ninja affiliated with no village or clan. The fisherman denied all rights to the child and died within the first year of his birth.” Haya spoke with conviction. She knew the rules. The fact that Saijun had Uchiha blood would make him a prime commodity to be had.

Not only was there the potential that he would develop the feared Kekkei Genkai, Sharingan, but there was also the possibility of him developing their gift of sight. She had seen too much, especially under the captivity of Orochimaru to ever endanger Saijun in anyway—

“Chi! Chi!” Both Haya and Sasuke froze at the new word uttered helplessly from Saijun’s lips. Thick eyelashes were damp with tears, dark eyes looking beyond Sasuke’s shoulders. Saijun knew his father would not take him. It was like all the other times that he had been left behind for months on end. But maybe his new Chichi-ui would take him! He was kind!

“Chi!” Saijun cried out, reaching for Harry. Said man watched the child with apprehension. He might have stepped forward, green eyes staring into those watery pools of onyx. Might have, if identical eyes cold and seemingly indifferent like the first time they had met, hadn’t looked his way.

There was a thick cloud of tension between them, like a war that had been raged for millennia. No one knew who started the war, or why they fought, but the thriving beat of battle drums would sing true regardless.

Guilt maybe?

Conflicted? Harry didn’t much know. And so unlike himself, he felt himself curl within a tightly woven shell in fear of ever figuring out what the unforgiving emotions within him were. He wasn’t proud of it, but he looked away. He stepped back and distanced himself from both father and son. He blocked out Saijun’s cries and Sasuke’s unreadable stare. He blocked out the chirping crickets and turned his back. He…he didn’t want to know what was on the other side of his emotions because in the end…did it matter?

“I’ll find you when the time is right, take care of him Haya,” Harry heard Sasuke’s deep voice. It was soothing in a strange sense, yet brought so much anxiety ironically. He could hear the obvious love the man had for his son. Could imagine how he would gently caress Saijun’ soft chubby cheeks. Because despite everything…Sasuke had a gentle touch.

“I will, Uchiha-sama. You have my word, and Uchiha-sama…take care of Harry won’t you?”

Harry blocked out the rest of the conversation. He tilted his head to the sky, watching as a flock of crows took flight, excited chatter leaving their beaks as they playfully swooped after each other.  He closed his startling green eyes, felt as the warm rays of sunlight hesitantly traced his soft skin. Painted an abstract of warmth against glowing alabaster as he spread his arms apart.

The waves crashed against rocky cliffs. Retreated, only to repeat again. The smell of salt and seaweed filled his senses. Saijun’s wails, Sasuke’s low baritone, Haya’s sweet voice, it all faded to nothingness.

Harry almost flinched at the light touch against his arm. Brief and fleeting, and as his eyes flew open he realized that it was Sasuke. The man walked ahead of him, already choosing his path to get them to Orochimaru. Hands tucked into the sleeves of his long billowing sleeves. Arms folded over his chest.

Harry didn’t realize he had become so lost in thought to miss his movements. He looked over his shoulders to see Haya watching with sad eyes, Saijun, the poor thing reduced to pitiful hiccups.

The child must have felt his stare because he suddenly looked up.

Desperate and afraid. He fought to reach to Harry, pace red and blotchy, and Harry wondered how Sasuke could ever resist that! How could he walk away when Saijun’s cries tore at anyone who would listen, heart!

“Chi!” Harry couldn’t help it. He caved for a second. Without even thinking he was already walking towards Haya. The woman didn’t resist when Harry scooped Saijun into his arms and cradled him close.

“Saijun, you have to be brave little one. Your father…he loves you dearly, he wouldn’t leave you if he didn’t have to. This…I know,” Like a soothing balm to a sore wound, Saijun’s cries turned to little whimpers that tapered off into soft sniffles.

He could feel Sasuke’s stare boring into his back. Knew that the man heard his words. Perhaps wondered if the truth he uttered was sincerely felt.

In truth, he didn’t know himself.

“Harry—” Haya began but was interrupted when the man handed her the child once more and gently shook his head.

“I don’t want to hear it, Haya. There are only two things that exist now, fairy tales and duty. I think…we both know which one will always win.” Harry smiled sadly before stepping back.

“And what about what you feel? Is that fairy tale, Harry? What about Uchiha-sama...” Her eyes flickered beyond Harry’s shoulder to Sasuke who stood as stoic as ever. Raven dark hair gently blowing in the wind, and his chokoto strapped to his side.

Again, Harry didn’t dear look behind him. Lest he face those eyes. He could feel his heart racing, the threatening hitch of his breath that had nothing to do with sexual attraction. It was something far more dangerous and so sudden that he wanted to hide from it all! He wanted it to go back to how it was before when he called Sasuke monster even if he had never believed.

He regretted that moment between them! Regretted giving in and losing himself to too much passion, much too fast. Hated that he had been vulnerable for a moment in strong arms and that he wanted to experience it again.

He hated that he didn’t truly regret it and the floodgates of terrifying emotions that burst through Hade’s Gates without pause.

“Harry do you think you could grow to lov—”

“I’ve wasted enough time, it was nice meeting you Haya. I would hope to meet you again, but…if all goes well, I’ll never see you again. I might even become a fading memory to you,” He didn’t want to hear the rest of her words. Couldn’t risk them ever being uttered in the open!

No, that would make it too real!

Haya sighed but conceded. Watching as Harry finally walked off, trailing behind Sasuke who had started walking ahead once more.

Flashes of images crossed her mind. A turning point she could tell. Paths of misery, paths of suffering. There were paths of love and true happiness. She tried to force her sight to see beyond what was given to her. She could feel as another scar carved its way down her back for her audacity.

Paths of destiny. She prayed Harry and Uchiha-sama would be alright. Would not be destroyed by the makings of the world.

* * *

 

“If anyone’s loyalty should be questioned, it’s Shikamaru’s!” Sakura raged, slamming her fist against Tsunade’s desk. Her green eyes were set ablaze as she watched the back of her mentor. Tsunade said nothing, eyes trained on her village below, hands folded behind her back.

“He stopped me! I almost caught him and he stoppe—”

“Nothing was there, Sakura! I stopped you from running head first into enemy lines!” Shikamaru raised his voice for the first time. It was almost terrifying to see such suppressed rage in the tight clench of his fist and the stiff furrow of his brow.

“ _I know what I saw_ , Shikamaru! Don’t play me for a fool! I know you saw it too! That civilian had a child in his arms and that child was—” The room was spiralling into chaos. Shikamaru and Sakura were engaged in a shouting match that could be heard halls away. Naruto sat listlessly staring at his fingers, lost in his own thoughts and Kakashi…he simply stood silently…observing.

“I know I saw you raging mad, breaking formation to pursue Sasuke blindly! That you chased a civilian like a mad dog, hooked on a scent through a burning building—”

“—Sasuke’s son! He was Sasuke’s son!” Sakura screamed. A pin could have dropped ten million miles away and it would have been heard for how heavily silence suddenly weighed down the office. Naruto looked up from his fingers with wide blue eyes. Kakashi froze on spot, and through it all Tsunade remained still with her back to her subordinates.

“Sasuke Uchiha…has a son,” Tsunade spoke each word carefully as if weighing them on her tongue. Her voice was rich and deep, carrying the weight of a woman who had led a military state for years and won each battle that had come her way.

“You can confirm this?” Tsunade glanced over her shoulder, eyes colder than they ever were, pinning Sakura in place. It was probably then that Sakura and the others truly noticed the atmosphere of the room. Tsunade’s office had always had a sense of warmth about it. Yet upon their return from a failed mission much had seemingly changed.

Not only the office but the village itself. The civilians looked over their shoulders more, held their children close. There was increased patrol along their borders and trade had seemingly increased more than necessary.

“Y-yes. I mean no, but he looked so much like him! So much Tsunade!” Sakura almost pleaded for the Hokage to listen to her! This was important somehow! This could be the way to get Sasuke back! Return him to his home, it’s where the Uchiha belonged!

“When we fought…he rushed off all of a sudden. The clan house went up in flames and he seemed really worried about something, someone,” Naruto stood, serious eyes flickering to Sakura who gave a small smile for his support.

“Shikamaru, did you or did you not see this child? Can you confirm any such suspicion that the Uchiha line has continued beyond Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha?” Her voice brook no argument as honey eyes bore into the shadow ninja.

Searching for his deceit.

“No!” Shikamaru glared, ignoring Sakura’s and Naruto’s fierce glares.

Tsunade said nothing at first. Locked in a staring match with one of the more talented ninjas of his generation. She turned away again, allowing silence to reign before she spoke her piece. She wondered if Hiruzen had ever felt this way, the terrible guilt for making a decision only for the benefit of the village than staying true to morality and innocent hands.

He must have. Hiruzen’s hands were no more free of blood than any true leader of Konoha.

“We are at war. As of today, battle cries have sounded and villages have made their stance. Iwagakure and Kumogukre have aligned against us. They seek to establish a new order. They threaten to topple Konoha from its throne…destroy us.”

Tsunade ignored Naruto and Sakura’s outburst of shock.

“Through Jiraiya’s spy network, we know that they seek the Sharingan for whatever reason. Be it through Itachi Uchiha or Sasuke Uchiha.”

“What does that mean?” Naruto asked softly, squeezing Sakura’s hand in comfort when she laced her fingers with his own.

“It means as of today the order is given, the Sharingan must return to Konohagakure and if both Uchiha's must die to make it so, then so be it!”

“You can’t!”

  
“I won’t allow it!” Sakura and Naruto both screamed in outrage. Slamming their fist against Tsunade’s desk that the scrolls fell and scattered along the floor. Behind her, the Anbu flickered at the threat. Out of sight, though it was obvious weapons must have been drawn.

“Watch me! You baulk when I question your loyalty. Then prove it! You are no longer children, and I have coddled you both enough. We are at war, and you are Ninja of the leaf! Where do you stand?!” Tsunade’s glare could have torn through steel, her voice deadly and dark. A face that neither Sakura nor Naruto had ever seen.

Sakura trembled in anger, biting her lips as she refused to look away! She refused to back down!

Naruto’s stare said it all! He wasn’t afraid of Tsunade or the entire village! He would _not_ kill Sasuke!

“What say you, Ninja of the leaf?” Tsunade barked, her fist slammed against her wooden desk. The wood gave under her might, shattering before their eyes.

“As you command, _Hokage-sama_ ,” They spat out in unison. Angered by the seeming betrayal by the one who had always had their backs. The one who should have been different! Who must have understood their need to return their teammate to his home! Their friend and their love!

Hadn’t she regretted allowing Orochimaru to slip through her fingers and become the twisted monster that he now was? And even then, the man was a threat to Konoha but still alive, even after the multiple chances she must have gotten to kill him!

How could she think that they would so willingly kill Sasuke!

“Fair enough, but mark my words, not even my love for you will stop me from persecuting you both should you betray Konoha.” Her eyes flickered over to Shikamaru and Kakashi.

“What say you?” Steady and unwavering.

“As Hokage-sama commands,” So easily it slipped from their lips. Even as they both delivered their acceptance with little emotion.

“Naruto, you said you wanted to be Hokage one day. How can you when you allow emotion to rule your every judgment. Selfish emotion.” She received no answer, and honestly, she expected none.

“You are dismissed.” They all left the office without a word. Leaving Tsunade to her thoughts as she gazed somewhere beyond the mountains.

“Get me all the information you can on this so-called child of Sasuke Uchiha. If the sharingan has been passed on to a new generation, then it is perhaps time the loyalty of the Uchiha to this village be renewed.”

Tsunade folded her hands behind her back, her robes billowing in the wind, as she watched brown leaves flutter in the wind. Below she watched Danzo Shimura who spoke softly to a young boy. One that carried a message for him. The man must have sensed her stare, because he looked up, acknowledging her with a small nod.

“And someone, replace that desk.”

* * *

 

“You saw the child, didn’t you?” Shikamaru didn’t even flinch when Kakashi suddenly appeared above the tree limb he rested under. His arm was folded behind his head, foot propped up as he stared at the starry night.

“At war, I wonder if Sasuke will know the new role he must play in the politics of Konoha,” Kakashi muttered, staring up at the sky. Watching as a bird vanished in the distance. A slow smile crossed his lips as he watched it.

“Only a matter of time till he knows then. Perhaps it is your loyalty that truly should have been questioned Shikamaru. Tell me, how long have you been in contact with Sasuke Uchiha?”

Shikamaru only closed his eyes at the question. Humming to himself, noting the Anbu that were slowly surrounded them in the shadows. They had just arrived and weren’t privy to their conversation. Then again, Kakashi was no fool, he wouldn’t speak so carelessly.

Silent.

Observing.

It seemed that were to be monitored from the shadows which were his domain.

“How long have you, Kakashi Hatake?"

* * *

 

“Sasuke…wait, I have to do something,” Harry panted, trying to keep up with Sasuke’s quick pace. To give Sasuke credit, he did stop, but he didn’t look particularly pleased about it.

“We have to get off the road. I’d prefer to avoid trouble if I can, especially if we are to reach Orochimaru in good time!”

“I know! Just—give me a minute!” Harry glared, not backing down when Sasuke continued to stare at him. Again he wanted to look away, but…this was more important to him than his confusing feelings. Sasuke frowned, but eventually gave in, watching as Harry pulled strangely crafted broken stick from his pockets.

He walked to the side and stooped down before he slowly began to dig a hole. It confused Sasuke, but he could see that for whatever reason that stick held great value to the man. It was then that he recalled the use of that strange energy against him when Harry had tried to escape. The continuous pulse of something surrounding the man.

Intoxicating as it twined around his chakra like an old friend. A part of him that he never realised he missed.

His weird accent…the fact that for how he could speak his language, he couldn’t read simple text or write it.

“I’m not from your world, Sasuke. It’s farfetched, but I truly am not. Where I come from, people like you don’t exist.” Sasuke said nothing, moving to stand beside Harry, watching as he dug an even deeper hole. He stopped for a while to sadly caress the broken stick.

Such melancholy, one he couldn’t quite understand. It was a stick, wasn’t it?

“Where I come from there is magic, and wands that we are born to have. They are an extension of ourselves…like a soul. And mine is broken.” Harry whispered, voice watery. Green eyes looked up at consuming onyx.

“There is a war where I am from. My parents were murdered for the sake of that war, right in front of me. I might have been but a child, but still, I’m cursed with the memory of people I never knew. My identity that was stolen.” Harry looked down at his wand again, before gently placing it in the hole. A grave to finally bury and mourn his wand, his one true connection to the world he was displaced from.

Slowly he began to shuffle the dirt over it. Laying things of old to rest, so he could move on with a clearer focus. Burry the crutch to his soul, or what used to be his soul. He could feel something break inside him, like the first time his wand had been broken. A fierce consuming feeling that would not allow him to breathe.

“The man that murdered my family is still alive. He’s the one that leads the war, and as faith would have it, I am the one slated to destroy him. It’s why I have to get back. My duty is not complete. That and my—” Harry broke off as Sasuke suddenly kneeled beside him.

“I—I don’t know what I feel for you. I slept restlessly thinking about that night we shared, thinking that maybe it’s all I want and that I don’t want to fight a war! I don’t even know you.” Harry whispered. His hand trembled as he desperately tried to cover his wand. Tears blurring his sight.

He gasped when suddenly warm hands covered his own. Steady and strong. Warm hands that slowly helped him cover the hole his broken wand rested. They remained like that. Sasuke guiding his smaller hand, helping him cover his wand that no longer snag with magic.

It had remained too long without being fixed, and now it was but a shadow of what it was. It had lost all that had made it magical. Had made it his. Harry trembled at the thought, clenching Sasuke’s hand tight.

Strange that even though his heart hurt, the warmth the seeped from Sasuke’s body curled around him soothed an ache within him. Not completely of course, but he longer felt so alone. His magic must have agreed as it sought Sasuke’s chakra, purring under the brush of the man’s powerful spirit.

Did Sasuke feel this too? The way his body was set alight even in his grief. Feel the pull that will him be consumed by all Sasuke was. I wasn’t quite Ying and yang, no they were too similar for that…

But it felt like…

Da-dup, Da-dup. His heartbeat. So loud in his ear, yet seemingly muffled by the weight of the settling realization. The anxiety grew, his throat felt tight and as he looked at Sasuke. Watched how his dark lashes fluttered, the pull of perfectly formed lips in a frown.

Lips that had touched him, and took from him so much. One that would tempt him away from his duty because of his weakness...

“Strange…these similarities between you and I, Baby Doll,” Sasuke frowned at their interwoven hands. The paleness of two moons that collided. The glow of enchanting light as he caressed the back of Harry's hand with his thumb. Two pieces of a whole…

Harry doubted Sasuke even realized it.

“I don’t want to feel this! I can’t…I have a duty,” Harry whispered, even as his gaze settled on Sasuke’s soft lips. Even as they leaned into each other, unaware.

Love? No, it wasn’t love. Not yet, or so they thought. It couldn’t be love because…they didn’t know each other! They didn’t, but…

Love?

There was a strange magnetic pull. A forming bond that tightened around their reality. Threatened to destroy everything they had ever dedicated their lives to.

“To save my world,” They were but a breath away—

Deep breaths. In and out. A sound that was terrible loud to the ear.

Deep breaths, in and out as they leaned into each other. Sasuke’s palm trailed up Harry’s thigh. It wasn’t a sexual act, but it was an intimate act. One that left Harry breathless, and much too aware of the man before him.

“To avenge my clan,” Sasuke whispered in response. So close, that their lips tingled. Their hearts raced, and their intertwined fingers felt so warm.

So safe.

“Baby Doll, I think I—” A breathless whisper from Sasuke’s lips. Hearts racing, breaths uneven as they slowly begin to lose themselves to a strange abyss.

Strange as Sasuke seemingly took the lead. The one that ignored him when he spilt his heart out and admitted that he wanted him, even though his duty would not allow it…

“I think I—”

It was so sudden! Like a jet of mysterious cold water that doused the flames of hell in one go!

“Get away from him!” The furious scream shocked Harry enough that he almost keeled over! Heart giving a painful lurch as he pulled away from Sasuke and stumbled to his feet. Sasuke was already up, blade drawn as the bushes rustled!

Someone coming at high speed!

Startling red hair! Freckled cheeks! Bloodied and bruised. Infected cuts and sores. Blue, blue eyes! A man staggered out of the bushes, fierce glare set on Sasuke’s unemotional form.

Ready to fight! Ready to protect what he must!

Harry stumbled back. Heart seizing at the sight before him. This couldn’t be real!

It couldn’t be!

_“Ron!?”_


	13. What you know or don't know can hurt you?

“Ron?!” Harry didn’t even recognise his own voice. Gasping and filled with terror. An amalgamation of hope, anxiety, excitement and dread. It couldn’t be real! It just couldn’t, yet here he stood—

Ron, he whispered in his mind. Like a prayer. He would fall to his knees as the world collapsed around him and his green eyes would remain unwavering as he gazed hopefully into soft blue.

Ron, it was his best friend, wasn’t it!

“Ron!” He was moving before he could even think about it! Heart soaring, throat tight and eyes burning with the tears he couldn’t let fall. Ron was here! He was here and so close! If he could just—

He hollered in anger when a hand suddenly tightened in the back of his shirt and pulled him back with enough force that he was sent careening behind the Uchiha and landing on his ass.

“What the bloody hell—!” He was grabbed again. Hauled to his feet and flung over Sasuke’s shoulders. Everything was moving so bloody fast! The whiz of metal through the air. Quickened footsteps, and racing hearts!

Metal through the air! Showers of weapons fell from the sky.  Green eyes frantically watched their decent. How they reflected the soft glow of the moon, almost blinding as they tore through the soil they once stood. Sasuke’s grip was tight around his waist, flickering from tree to tree! The scenery passing him by in a blur! And just when had they gotten off the ground?!

“No, Ron! We can’t leave Ron, Sasuke!” Harry screamed. Vision blurred as he desperately tried to search for his best friend! Did he get hit? Did he find Ron or rather Ron find him only for the man to now die!

There was a terrible hammering against his chest. Enough that he cringed in pain as he tried to escape Sasuke’s tight hold. Sasuke wasn’t listening to him! He could feel ninja in pursuit. At least he thought they were, Harry honestly didn’t know!

He didn’t care either!

They were moving at high speed. Tree branches cutting his cheeks, Sasuke’s shoulder digging into his hips and that damn hand iron tight. Unforgiving! Harry fought it! He wanted down, now! He couldn’t find Ron only to lose him again!

“Sasuke. Listen to me! We can’t, I—” His nails dug into Sasuke’s shoulders when they suddenly swerved. He felt his stomach lurch and the world spin on its axis. Something sharp sliced through his cheek and Sasuke was hauling him from over his shoulder, pushing him against a hollowed tree trunk way off ground. Forcing him to curl up inside of it.

“Stay put!” And wasn’t that reminiscent of the time he had tried to escape Sasuke! Scream for help from unknown Ninjas that ultimately led to their death. Sasuke drew his blade, the edge terrifyingly sharp, his back turned to Harry as he quickly assessed the area.

It was suddenly still. Too still! Not even the night creatures that would be out by now made a sound. Except—

“Harry, damn it, Harry! I’m coming! If you so much as hurt him, I promise I’ll kill you, you bloody bastard!” It was Ron! Harry couldn’t see him, but that loud angry voice was unmistakable. That, and the clumsy tumbling through the thick forest. He was about to jump out of the hole Sasuke had forced him into. He didn’t know how far off the ground he was, but it wasn’t going to stop him. Ron needed—

“Don’t even think about it!” Sasuke all but hissed, a glare thrown over his shoulder as his stance changed. It was as if he was getting ready for an attack. The way his feet silently pushed apart for better balance. The grip around his sword loose enough to fluidly move in and out of motion.

Right, other than Ron, someone else was out there. Someone had attacked them, probably used Ron as bait or—

Harry mind went into overdrive. Trying desperately to ignore the instinct within him that would see him go after the wizard himself. The fresh cut on his cheek stung. A slight trail of blood staining his cheek.

“Then save him! I won’t move and you’ll save him,” Harry’s glare was just as fierce. He wasn’t one to be cowed. No, Sasuke knew better than to threaten him into submission. Dark eyes bore into his own, mouth set in a grim line. Sasuke did not acknowledge the terms of conditions, already turning away before jumping from the tree above. He descended, and with his descent, his last command echoed in Harry’s ear. A command that brought the smallest bit of relief to Harry as he curled further into the hollowed tree.

It wasn’t all that comforting. He still wanted to go and get Ron himself. Barely resisting the need to bite at his nails as he curled his arms around his knees.

He wasn’t some damsel. He was a fighter and go-getter. It was his friend down there!

His friend that had been missing for months upon months!

But Sasuke’s dark look, it held a promise there. It held a promise he desperately hoped Sasuke would keep.

“Stay put, Baby Doll.”

 

* * *

 Metals clashed through the air. Sparks flying and laboured breaths sounded as the sound Ninjas tried desperately to subdue the Uchiha heir. It was for nought as they were all cut down with expert ease. Sasuke remaining calm and collected as he stalked through the forest, ears keen to the idiot who shouted his heart out. Attracting every enemy in range! The man would probably be dead if it were he they were after!

No, the red-haired man was just the bait, and he was the fish that should have been lured in, if only because of Harry.

Sasuke remained impassive as the last of the sound Ninja fell before him. His sharpened blade slicing through supple flesh, stained ruby red. Nonchalantly he flicked the blood from the blade, staining the lush green grass underneath his feet. Grass already stained with the rich blood that left an almost stifling smell of iron in the air.

The night air was frigid against his skin. The temperature had dropped significantly since he had begun to dispatch the sound ninja. Not even the steady rush of blood or the sweat that painted his skin could stave off the zealous attacks of the night wind.

His breath misted over as he exhaled. Sounding impossibly loud to his own ear in the tense silence of the forest. He hoped Baby Doll would listen for once and stay where he had left him. This…whatever this was, it was far from over.

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. It was curious, that exceedingly loud man was suddenly silent. Where were the threats to his life and proclamations that he would save Harry? In his deluded obviously fever plagued mind, he should not be this silent

He narrowed his eyes. He could feel a cold steady gaze strained on his neck. Filled with so much ill intent. It didn’t phase Sasuke, instead, a mocking smirk crept along his lips. His grip tightening around his sword as he slowly turned to face his attacker.

“Kabuto, and here I thought you were above childish games,” Sasuke drawled. Unimpressed as the sounds of struggling became loud and Kabuto came forward with the man Harry had called Ron, held captive.

Ron struggled desperately, screams muffled with Kabuto’s hand clamped tight across his mouth. It was a punishing grip he could tell. One that left angry bruises to an already battered face, not that Sasuke cared. This Ron meant nothing to him and as it was, he only felt indifference for the man’s plight.

“Childish games do prove useful if they find me you. Better yet, when they prove you a traitor to our master’s cause,” Kabuto grinned, fisting Ron in his side when the man dared to bite him! He would have none of that now! His bait had best behave! After all, he should prove an adequate shield against Sasuke’s attacks.

Before he had located the escaped prisoner, he had gathered information through his spy network that Konoha had found Sasuke Uchiha. He had wasted no time sending sound ninjas, ones loyal to him to attack the village. Flush the Uchiha and their shared captive out. He had hoped though he knew what a stretch it would be, for Sasuke to somehow die in the attack.

Sasuke had disappeared again. It was then he had finally found the red-haired man. He seemed to have an inkling as to where Sasuke and the captive was. How he did, Kabuto knew not, but he took the gift for what it was.

The man would lead him to Sasuke. The man did lead him to Sasuke, and though the Uchiha had hidden away the captive in some part of this forest, he was confident that when this ended he would return to Orochimaru he would have a bounty to be proud of.

Ron buckled in pain. Blue eyes angry at his helplessness, even as his skin paled a ghastly colour and his vision swam.

“Your master’s cause? And what is that? His need to consume my body as his own deteriorates through grotesque rituals and experiments he performed on himself. Or his obsession with immortality, something farfetched and impossible. At least, as far as true immortality goes.” Sasuke scoffed, wholly unbothered by Kabuto’s scathing glare.

“So you don’t deny it, you have turned against us! You are a traitor!” Sasuke didn’t bother to answer. Quicker than Kabuto could register Sasuke was upon him. His blade swinging through the air! He barely escaped. Throwing his captive to the ground and rolling out of the path of Sasuke’s blade as it came down and sliced through the earth.

He quickly drew his weapon, clashing with Sasuke’s who kept on swinging. Elegant strikes that sang in worship to the Uchiha’s blade as he pushed on. He grunted at the force of the attacks. Enraged when it seemed Sasuke could care less! As if he was some everyday nuisance that the Uchiha had to deal with on a regular!

“To be a traitor would mean that at one point my loyalty laid with your master. Let me tell you now that the sentiment is wholly inaccurate.” The slice of Kabuto’s blade barely missed Sasuke’s neck as he flipped away. Already on his feet for the next attack as Kabuto flickered into sight. Fast, but ultimately slow to Sasuke who could move much faster.

They weren’t using chakra. No, for Sasuke it would be a waste of energy. For Kabuto, it was a matter of pride.

He would defeat Sasuke Uchiha without chakra! He would return to Orochimaru with Sasuke’s body. He needn’t be alive for Orochimaru to make use of it. And he would return with the man his master sought. He and the redhead that had escaped his prison somehow!

Ron watched in growing fear as the two ninjas battled it out. The sound of steel clashing against steel screamed in his ear. They moved so fast, he couldn’t keep track of them! One minute they would be to the right. Blades crossed, and the force of their attacks forcing blades of grass to bend their heads in submission. The next they would be to the left. Far apart, barely losing breath, eyes locked as they readied for the next attack! He swallowed tightly, his sore throat raw as he moved to crawl away.

This didn’t exist in the wizarding world! It didn’t! No one could credit wizards with physical prowess. The complete control of one's body to accomplish impossible tasks without magic. They relied so much on that thrumming energy that hummed underneath their skins. A blessing from mother magic, if the old ways were to be believed and practised.

He had to find Harry!  

He hurt everywhere. His arms, his legs, his chest. He couldn’t breathe and behind him the sound of the fight ongoing made his heart race. He still had his wand in hand as he staggered to his feet. The man, Kabuto, he thought it was only a stick. That it could bring no harm. He would have been terribly wrong on any other occasion. But now, with his head pounding and his vision swimming, his wand would not be of much help.

He couldn’t focus enough to fire off a simple unlocking spell, much less to subdue these two men, ninja’s he reminded himself, that was their enemy.

He flinched when Kabuto suddenly cried out! He looked behind him to see the man staggering in place. Desperately holding onto his side as blood gushed, and Sasuke’s sword glistened in the night. The Uchiha stalked kabuto as if he were prey. For all purposes he was and with the thought, Ron grew afraid. Was this the man Harry had been with for how long?

This man who wore not a lick of emotion on his bloody pristine face, even as his enemy gasped and desperately tried to get away.

“Orochimaru will know! He’s no fool. He will see that you have betrayed him! He will see that you were never to be trusted!” Kabuto spat. Blood poured over his fingers, and if he didn’t need to keep Sasuke in his sight at all times, he would have healed himself.

To do so now would be a mistake!

That he knew.

He licked his lips nervously, anticipating Sasuke’s next move. Beads of sweat rolled down his neck and soaked his back. There was an uncomfortable stifling heat that could not be swayed by the icy breath of night that mocked him for his possible failure.

Oh, how he detested this. To know that if Sasuke so desired he could be easily cut down. Orochimaru had trained the Uchiha well. Equipped him with a multitude of jutsu that even he could not comprehend. Encouraged Sasuke’s independent study on the spiritual connection of chakra. A path that led to the most intriguing growth of Sasuke’s Taijutsu.

“Perhaps I overestimated your intelligence. You think he doesn’t already know? I pity you, Kabuto. You’ve spent so much of your life under others that you could never reach your true potential. Distractions have become your downfall.” Kabuto glared at the man who would dear lecture him! He stumbled and finally collapsed to the ground. Blood pooling around his body. Warm and thick against his skin as the night creatures began to sing their song anew.

How dare this man! To think that he was somehow higher in position than him! To think that Orochimaru favoured him over all else!

“You preach distractions and true potential. Then what say you, Sasuke Uchiha? The one who has so easily fallen for the whiles of a foreign man when your duty is yet complete!” Sasuke should have anticipated it! He should have, yet it was too late! A consuming darkness surrounded him, his onyx eyes bleeding into the famed Sharingan, the tomoes spinning wild as the attack overtook him.

“Infinite Darkness Jutsu!” Kabuto snarled. A vindictive smirk crossing his face as Sasuke stumbled, unable to see anything. He winced, trying to stand. This was his chance!

He staggered to his feet. Glancing briefly to his side where Ron desperately tried to crawl away. He hadn’t much use for the man now, not when Sasuke was subdued in a Genjutsu he seemingly couldn’t break.

Oh, the irony! A Genjutsu Master that couldn’t break out of a Genjut—

Sasuke suddenly stilled. Sharingan eyes wide open. The tomoes spun! Clockwise, anticlockwise till they suddenly stilled. Sasuke was staring right at him, head tilted to the side. A taunting smirk on dusky lips as he levelled his sword in the exact direction Kabuto stood.

“One does not need sight to defeat an enemy, you disappoint me Kabuto,” Kabuto didn’t even wait. He turned tail to run! Get out of Sasuke’s range as quickly as possible! Attack from above maybe! No, Sasuke would still find him there!

He grabbed for Ron, ignoring the man’s outrage screams as he threw him before him! Sasuke wouldn’t run the man through to get to him!

Not when this man was so important to his—

Kabuto’s eyes widened in shock. Blood bubbling in his throat, choking him as fierce burning pain spread through his chest. He was drowning in his own blood, gasping for air that would not come! He looked in fear, Sasuke’s blade ran through both Ron and him. Said man cursed up a storm, hand grip tight on the blade that still pushed forward, with undeniable force.

“You son of a bitch!” Ron croaked, his hand trembling as he tried to raise his wand in defence. Blast Sasuke away somehow! His arm felt like led and his head was pounding. His vision swam, and all he could think about was his death. He was going to die and the last thing he would see were those demonic eyes and that cruel smirk!

Harry…Harry.

He found him only to let him down! It was partly his fault that the wizard was stranded in this wicked country. A country that made no sense! And now he would die a pitiful death. Sword piercing through his guts pinned to another enemy that—

Kabuto gurgled, grasping at his belly as Sasuke removed his sword. He watched as the Sharingan faded into onyx. Sasuke blinking a few times as his sight returned to him and Ron fell forward. Body jerking as blood quickly pooled around him.

Kabuto didn’t care about that! No, he couldn’t care about that. Not the when the world faded to washed out colours and the fierce burning pain within him gave way to numbness. His ears felt clogged and blood poured over his stained hands like syrup.

“You don’t even know! How absolutely hilarious,” Kabuto laughed. A terrible croaking sound as he looked up to the sky. He listened as Sasuke ran his sword along the blades of grass. Sheathing it as he casually stepped over Ron’s prone figure. Ron screamed in pain. Groaning and trying to desperately curl into himself, hand still held tight to that stick he carried around.

Kabuto paid that no mind. The crickets sounded beautiful. Singing a haunting song, though muffled to his ears that brought an odd sense of peace.

His arm trembled as he raised it to the sky. Long fingers fading in and out of focus, before he saw the large crescent moon in the sky.

“Don’t know what?” Sasuke frowned. Kabuto didn’t seem to hear him, or perhaps he ignored him as he bled to death. The man turned his head slowly to the side, staring into Sasuke’s eyes. Grin wide and smeared with blood. An image made grotesque as clots escaped his nose and landed on his upper lip. He was deathly pale, onyx eyes half-lidded, and still yet blood pooled from his open wounds.

“Your duty is in danger, Sasuke Uchiha. And when it ultimately dies and falls through your fingertips, I’ll be glad in my place in hell!” Kabuto whispered, one last laugh escaping his lips as he finally succumbed to his wounds. Crimson red blood brushed the tips of Sasuke’s sandals. Not that he paid it much mind as he silently watched Kabuto’s lifeless body.

Was that the rambling of a vindictive man on his deathbed? Or was it something else? An Omen.

He was jarred out of his thoughts by the loud gasping behind him. He slowly looked over his shoulder, watching as the redhead gasped for breath. Ron, Harry had called him. Baby Doll’s voice filled with so much hope and genuine joy, mixed with underlining fear. The unrestrained love—

The thought for some reason angered him. Something dark stirred within him at the thought of Harry unrepressed joy for this man.

“H-Harry” Ron could hardly be heard now. He fought desperately to get up but could do nothing but crawl. Sasuke stood still. He simply watched the man bleed out before him, the wind chilling his skin and overhead the trees descend in a serenade of old. He could let him die he thought. He could already sense that this Ron would be a problem.

An annoying problem that he hadn’t the time to deal with. He had agreed to help Harry but—

Sasuke frowned before he approached the man. Hand glowing with soft green chakra. He was… decent enough with medical ninjutsu to save his life.

 _“Then save him! I won’t move and you’ll save him,”_ Harry had been fierce, daring Sasuke to defy him. He could imagine that for the length of time he had left Baby Doll in that tree, the man had probably wiggled his way down. Tripping over something and falling into a clumsy heap as he so often did.

Ron groaned in pain, blue eyes flickering open. Through blurry sight, he saw Sasuke. His heart raced when the man raised his hand.

Was this it?

Was he going to die?

“Stay still, unless you want to bleed out right here and now. It doesn’t matter either way, but I wager Baby Doll would be…quite upset with me,” Sasuke drawled. He ignored as Ron flinched away, casually batting the wand from the man’s hand when he made to attack.

 

* * *

 Sasuke frowned as he pushed through the thick foliage to see Harry making his way down the tree. He should have expected it! Baby Doll didn’t ever listen, not when his mind was set on something.

“I said you should—”

“You were taking too long!” Harry fired back, slipping from the tree to land deftly on his feet. A surprise he didn’t fall over on his two left feet. It was the only reason Sasuke could wager for Harry’s apparent clumsiness.

He would have gone off on Sasuke when the man had the audacity to raise that mocking eyebrow at him. As it was, a pained groan that sounded loud and clear in the night stole Harry’s attention. Sasuke lowered Ron to the ground, and Harry didn’t realize when he had moved. His heart soared and he was on his knees, thin fingers hesitantly reaching out, but not daring to touch his prone friend.

What if it was a dream? What if none of this was real?

Ron groaned again, blue eye blurry, not quite open. He seemed so dazed and lost, with his swollen face, covered in open cuts that were on the verge of infection.

Harry swallowed tight. Cupping Ron’s cheek, a shuddering breath leaving him as he felt the burning heat of the man’s skin. His hand was stained with blood and grime but he didn’t care. Ron, he was real.

Sasuke shuffled in place but Harry paid him no mind. Eyes burning with the need to cry as he took another shuddering breath. Ron wasn’t in a good state. He was sickly pale, hair matted. Wounds bleeding sluggishly, and the darkening blood stain where his stomach lay was something of concern.

“H-harry?” Ron croaked, reaching up to cradle Harry’s face in his palm. Harry all but melted in the touch. The feel of that callous skin against his soft cheeks. It was unbelievable and made no sense, but Ron was—

“I’m here, Ron. I’m here,” Harry whispered. Smile watery when Ron blinked up confused, fighting to say something.

“You have to get away from that man, Harry! You have to! He’s the one wh—”

“Shhh, Ron. It’s ok, you’re safe now,” Harry shushed him, resting Ron’s head in his lap when he made to protest. He was unaware of Sasuke’s cold gaze that bore into his being. How onyx eyes narrowed and the man’s fist clenched before releasing as if it had never happened.

“Harry…where did your glasses go?” Ron slurred before his eyes ultimately closed. It was such an odd question, one that jarred Harry as his hand reached for something that was not there. When did he lose them? How could he see so clearly if he wasn’t wearing them?

Ron’s laboured breath pulled him from his distraction. Ron needed treatment if he hoped to survive. He couldn’t let him die! Not when he had just found him!

He looked up only to see Sasuke leaning against an old tree. His arms were crossed over his chest. Shoes soaked with blood, Harry realised.

“No,” Sasuke didn’t even let Harry get a word out. He could already see how those pretty green eyes glistened. His gaze flickered to the redhead who struggled for breath in Harry’s arms. Watched how Harry held onto the man as if he was a lifeline.

That same look of desperate love.

“I can’t let him die, Sasuke! Please!” Harry pleaded. He held on tight to Ron, his only connection to the wizarding world. To the world, he belonged!

“He’ll slow us down! Or have you already forgotten your—”

“Don’t bring my duty into this, Sasuke! He’s my friend, he’s been there for me from the moment I realized I was a wizard and the responsibility of a war rested on my shoulders!” Harry glared. He didn’t want to deal with this now! They didn’t have time for squabbles amongst each other! Rn would die if they didn’t seek treatment and the fact that Sasuke didn’t seem to care—

But why would he care? Ron was ultimately Harry’s problem, not Sasuke’s. He didn’t have a right to ask more of the man.

“Just…please. I’ll follow your ever lead after this! I’ll do what you tell me to do when we reach Orochimaru! You must understand, just as Saijun is precious to you, your only true family. It’s the same with Ron,” Harry whispered. They remained silent. Deep onyx locked with shimmering green.  

Sasuke said nothing before he moved from his place against the tree. He turned away from Harry, proceeding down the dirt road path of the forest.

“A village is some ways ahead. Two days travel the most. You can seek treatment for him there, but as soon as he his treated, we leave for Orochimaru without him! He’ll complicate things. If you hope to return to your world as you put it, it’s best you avoid complications.” Harry released the breath he held, fighting the inappropriate bubble of laughter that wished to escape his lips.

Good. Sasuke wouldn’t fight him on this, even if he seemed less than pleased about the development. Harry struggled to lift Ron to his feet. Throwing the man’s hands around his shoulders as he dragged him along. He grunted at the dead weight. If Ron was awake he could have lifted him on his back, even if he wasn’t as muscled as most of the men he knew.

He looked up when a shadow descended upon him. It was Sasuke. He silently took Ron from him, throwing him over his shoulder as if he were a sack of potatoes. The entire time he stared into Harry’s eyes. The gaze made the wizard strangely uncomfortable.

It was as if Sasuke was searching for something within Harry. Confirmation of something, and when he didn’t find a clear answer grew cold and detached.

Harry didn’t like the feeling. It was almost as if Sasuke felt threatened by some development he himself didn’t quite understand. Why was Sasuke acting this way? Why did he glare at Ron as if the man and to think just moments ago they were—

“Sasuke…are we—are you alright?” Harry broached the topic hesitantly. Sasuke didn’t answer and Harry was definitely convinced that something was wrong.

“Sasuke—earlier…you—” Harry didn’t know where to start or what to say. Why did this have to be so hard?

“Don’t worry your pretty little head over it, Baby Doll,” Harry narrowed his eyes at that. Deflection. Since when had Sasuke ever bent corners instead of saying straight up what was on his mind?

“Don’t call me that,” Harry muttered, much too tired to keep on pushing. As it was, maybe it best Sasuke got his space. If he wanted to tell him what was wrong, he would have.

That was Sasuke’s way. Yet, he couldn’t help but worry. The thought that he would worry over Sasuke as much as he worried over Ron was strange and terrifying. To think that he could care so much about a man who was once his enemy, and worse, not know or willing to understand why he cared so much.

The crickets sounded louder than ever, and trees groaned as they were bent in submission by the fierce cold wind. Harry’s footsteps echoed, his alone as Sasuke’s as it always was, remained silent.

 

* * *

 “Fascinating,” A whispery voice filled with wonder and glee echoed in the candlelit room. Orochimaru raised a test tube of blood in the air, watching as the viscous liquid seem to glitter in the amber glow cast around the room. A strange quality for the blood to have. It was almost as if the dark red liquid was saturated with diamond dust. Muffled sobs sounded behind him. Sweet sounds filled with remorse, guilt and so much pain. His captive wept for her helplessness. Her broken body that ultimately failed her and placed her dearest friend in danger. A pleased laugh escaped the snake Sanin’s lips, snakes hissing at his feet as they moved and coiled around each other. They snapped at his bare feet. Hissing furiously when his movements disturbed there restless slumber.

“To think that this energy is so much a part of your being that it would even filter into your blood. A pity I can’t dissect you,” Orochimaru glances over his shoulder with a wide grin. A frightening image for one so beautiful and exotic with his shimmering skin and molten gold eyes. His captive recoiled in horror when he looked her way. Brown eyes were blown wide as her heart raced and her hands clenched where they were strapped to her sides.

She had been tortured.

It was obvious.

Her skin was more black-and-blue than the creamy tan it usually was. Covered in small cuts and newly crusted blood. Her face was painfully swollen and it was clear that even as wide blown as her pupils were, she could not see well. Her bushy brown hair, always thick, was matted and weighed down by grime and perspiration.

Perspiration that left her body sticky with an unfavourable sheen that simply enhanced the grime that covered her body.

She sobbed around the gag fitted to her mouth. A trail of saliva escaping from the corner of her chapped flaking lips.  Her lips were ashy pink, the skin appearing more scale like, than the soft petals they usually resembled.

Her breath hitched when Orochimaru unceremoniously took a seat beside her. The wheels of the chair squeaking as he moved closer and rested the test tube of blood on the rack to the far right.

“—at least not yet.” Orochimaru crooned. Ignoring how the woman flinched from his touch as he poked at the ravaged skin that covered her median cubital vein. The skin was bumpy and filled with scarred ridges, a testament to the numerous samples of blood Orochimaru stole from her body.

“Hermi—o—ne, that’s what you said your name was? And the one I want, the one who can unravel these beautiful symbols—” Molten gold eyes flickered to the wall that held what he learned were runes. He didn’t much care how he stumbled over the foreign name, entranced by the pulse of energy he felt from those inscribed symbols.

Like a siren’s call, they beckoned to him. Bid him unravel their secrets. The thought sent a shuddering wave of lust up his spine. He hardly held back his moan, laughing to himself as he returned his gaze to the helpless woman.

All would be possible because of her. It was she who brought his attention to this unique power. She had been searching desperately for answers, and somehow she found herself in his presence. He seduced her with his knowledge of the world, convinced her he only wanted to help. That he  _could_  help, having discovered something similar to what she described to him years ago.

A wall of runes that painted a map to somewhere called Gryffindor temple. In hindsight, the woman should have been more cautious. She described to him in detail what great power she thought lied there. Whispered to him about the myths of immortality that spun around that temple. Told him that she wasn’t of their world, and neither was the man that would soon join her.

The man that could unravel it all.

Hari or Harry. The words were heavy on his tongue as he worked his way through the odd pronunciations.

“He’s almost here you know? He and my wayward apprentice and soon your nightmare will be over,” Orochimaru crooned. Gently carding his hand through Hermione’s knotted hair.

She pleaded through the gag. Eyes brimming with tears. Pleaded for him to stop, to leave them alone.

“Shhh—shhh, none of that now. It’ll be alright. I won’t hurt your precious Harry. All he’ll have to do is unravel these runes. Tell me where Gryffindor temple is,” Orochimaru hushed the woman. Smile wide as she cried helplessly, her hands twisted at her sides, the rope tearing into her skin, leaving swollen red wales.

“I’ll even spare his life when he gives me what I want. Whispers in the dark tell me that my wayward apprentice cares for him. You know him, don’t you? He’s the one who put you here. The one who stabbed you through the heart when you tried to escape. He can be quite cruel,” Orochimaru laughed. Excited by the terrified look frozen on the woman’s face. Without adieu, he rose from his seat leaving the woman to her thoughts.

In the shadows a ninja flickered into existence, head bowed as Orochimaru approached.

“Orochimaru-sama, Kabuto, he has been killed,” The Sanin only chuckled at the message. Caressing the head of the snake that crawled up his leg to settle around his shoulders.

“And there is one more thing as it regards Uchiha-sama. There are whispers, but it seems…it seems Uchiha-sama may have a son.” Orochimaru froze at the words. Eyes wide in shock as he spun around to face his servant.

“Son? A son you say?” The Sanin hissed in glee. Hermione watched from the table she was strapped in. Watched that cruel smile cross the man’s features. Listened as his servant spoke of Sasuke Uchiha and a son. She remembered the man. She remembered the glint of his blade. Yet, she felt dread for him if this man, this snake man that reminded her of Voldemort, had interest in his progeny.

“Why, Sasuke, you’ve been a naughty—naughty boy haven’t you,” Orochimaru chuckled. The cold laugh bouncing off the walls and the candlelight flickered.

 

* * *

 A bird flew desperately through the night air. Exhausted as it flapped its wings frantically. Head, turning this and that way as if it knew it was being hunted. Strapped to its leg was a note of great importance. One that must be delivered to it recipient as soon as possible. Already nine of the bird’s counterparts had been shot down, and before their descent, they had erupted in bright blue flames. Sacrificing themselves rather than letting the message fall into enemy hands. The bird squawked in the night air. In the direct sight of the crescent moon and the shadowed mountains that marked the boundary of the land of fire.

The wind aided the bird’s flight. Helping the tired being to glide through the sky, dip through the trees only to take flight to the air once more. Below the outline of many interconnected rivers painted a beautiful picture. Covered in mist and mystery as the bird swooped again.

Its small heart beat frantically as it looked ahead where the Capital lay. A sprawling beauty of golden lights. The home of the Daimyo. The bird just had to cross that one landmark, the mountains the Daimyo’s castle lay, and it would be on its way to deliver its message.

Further ahead another bird just like itself flapped its wing frantically, dodging something that glittered in the night. In fright, the creature realized that one more of its counterpart was alive… but not for long. The bird was taken down and just like all the rest, it erupted in flames!

It squawked helplessly, and the loss of focus was all it took! A kunai pierced through the bird’s wing. A crippling pain erupting in the small bird’s body as it plummeted to the ground. It spun in the air, the sound of wind deafening as it tried desperately to ignite itself. Destroy the message before it got into enemy hands.

It was no use! It chirped helplessly as it fell with a light thud in mud covered pathways. A masked ninja, an Anbu of the leaf slowly approached the down bird, cradling it in his hands as if he cared. The bird chirped pitifully once more, trying to fight off the hand that stole the message from her.

“What did you find, Rabbit?” It was Shikaku Nara. His mouth set in a grim line when the Anbu looked his way and shook his head. The note was blank. There was no message. There was a sigh of relief, the man’s shoulders slumping for a moment till it passed.

There wasn’t any incriminating information, but…

“Oh, Shikamaru. What are you doing? Why have you gained the interest of Hokage-sama and why won’t you speak to me.” The Nara clan head whispered to himself, eyes looking up to the sky. Gaze steady and unreadable.

“Nara-sama?” The Anbu queried. Waiting for orders.

“There is nothing to see here, we will return to the village and report to the Hokage.”


	14. To Define A Monster

Haya’s teeth chattered as she quickly made her way to a village she could seek shelter. In her pockets, the weight of folded Ryo reminded her of her duty to keep Saijun safe. Uchiha-sama had supplied her with enough money to make a life for herself and his son. She could rent a house maybe. One far up in the hills of the village she would ultimately choose to settle in. She would not want for food for eleven months she estimated, and that was without rationing.

She wouldn’t need to ration. Uchiha-sama would not have his child wanting and by extension the one slated as the youngest Uchiha’s caretaker. Saijun wailed in her arms. He hadn’t stopped the moment Uchiha-sama and Harry had left them behind! It was curious because he had never acted this way before. Desperately trying to escape her hold. Calling for To and Chi as if his life depended on it.

He would take small breaks of course. Tiny hiccups wracking his body as he fell into restless slumber. Eyebrows knitted in a fear Haya couldn’t understand. He would whine in his sleep, reaching for something Haya couldn’t see, then recoiling as if touched by a grotesque monster.

“It’s alright, Saijun. It’s alright baby, I’ll keep you safe!” Haya hushed. Saijun continued to wail. Ignoring her efforts as onyx eyes opened and pleaded with her. Pleaded with her to—

Something shifted in the shadows! The bushes rustled for a moment before they stilled, and suddenly she became hyper-aware of their surroundings! Her ears strained to pick up the sound she had heard. A painful hammer in her chest as fear gripped her heart. Brown eyes flickered nervously around the thick bushes that surrounded them.

Crickets chirped. Loud and uncaring if their cries would wake the men of the land. Tree frogs croaked and thrilled. And water from the rains that had fallen earlier dripped from dropping leaves into forming puddles.

Drip—Drop

Drip—Drip

Drop

She clutched Saijun to her chest. Quickening her steps as her heart plummeted to the pits of her stomach when she heard the sound again! It was as if she was being followed! A clumsy stalking as the footsteps taunted her and urged her into a frightened run! Nervous sweat beaded on the sides of her neck, and she almost tripped in an effort to get away!

Her toe caught on a rock made lose by mud.  She gasped as she clumsily steadied herself, her feet still tangled up! She refused to fall! She refused! She hissed to herself, Saijun whimpering, his wails quieting down

It seemed that even he realized that they were perhaps in danger. She stopped abruptly. Listening. Listening and hearing nothing but the sounds of the wild and feeling the chilling wind against her skin.  It could be a figment of her imagination she thought. She hadn’t seen anything in her visions to denote a terrible fate for both her and Saijun. No, she saw nothing but her safe arrival at the very village she sought.

But why then couldn’t she dismiss the terrible feeling. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge. A howling sound rocked her to her core. The bushes moved frantically! She didn’t even stop to see what it was! To do so would be folly!

She sprinted through the mud. Her kimono stained with the disgustingly cold water that splashed from it. Her sandals spread sideways, threatening to trip her but she could not allow it!

Blood pumping furiously, she barely held in the scream as the chasing footsteps grew louder and so much closer! A shadow moved above her in the trees.

One shadow, two shadows, three!

She didn’t know! In her panic, she saw not where she ran, where she would end up. 

She simply had to get away!

Her petrified screams echoed through the woods as she collided with something hard but much too warm to not be something living! To not be  _someone_! Her scream woke the dead perhaps when birds that slumbered screeched and took flight in their flocks in the night air.

“Woman, are you alright!” The sudden frantic shout had Haya opening the eyes she didn’t realize she had clenched tight! It was a rugged man, draped in soil stained clothes. Smelling of sweat and tilled soil. A farmer man she realized as she caught sight of the sack thrown over his shoulder. One that had a sharp sickle tied within its straps.

Haya quickly looked behind her. Eyes frantically searching through the woods for whoever pursued her. She saw nothing, and again she wondered if she was losing her mind. Was this her fear of responsibility! Being for the first time the only protector of the future of the Uchiha clan?

“—dy! Lady are you alright!” The man sounded panicked, holding her tight by her arms, examining her for any injury. He gasped at the sight of a child held tight to her chest and wondered what the hell could have her racing mad through these woods?!

And why would a woman and child travel by their lonesome in a place like this, were bandits and no good doers thrived and lived! Did she lose her husband? Did rouge ninja kill him? Or was it her husband that she fled from! The man felt a swell of protective instinct in his chest when he observed the scars that painted her face.

What abuse did she suffer through?!

“Lady—”

“I’m alright. Really, I am,” Haya sounded breathless and not in a good way. Saijun whimpered again, onyx eyes trained on the bushes Haya ignored. Tears escaping large innocent eyes.

The man rubbed the back of his head nervously. Nails crusted with dirt, and his arms obviously stained from a day’s hard work.

“Alright, if you’re sure?” The man was hesitant, eyeing both woman and child and wondering about the peculiarity of the situation.

“I—wait! If you don’t mind—you’re from the village aren’t you? Would you grant the favour of escorting a woman and her nephew to the village? It’s quite scary being left alone in a place like this,” Haya sheepishly smiled. No one could tell that her heart still raced or even notice how her limbs trembled in fear of something she could not understand.

The man gave her a strange look. Peering over her shoulders before slowly nodding his head. How much trouble could one woman and a baby be? It’s not like she was mixed up with those ninjas and their bloodshed.

“Alright! Its ways out there you know! It will be midnight before we arrive I wager. You have a place to stay, miss?” Haya gave the appropriate answers to the man’s queries. Giving a shy smile when the man offered her a night’s stay with his wife and two children. At least until she could rent a place of her own. He didn’t realize how distracted she was, or how fear clogged her throat.

She was just imagining it, right? No one was after them. No one knew who Saijun was. She released on unsteady breath before quickening her pace to keep in step with the farmer man.

She didn’t notice the three shadows that peered out through the thick foliage. How they nodded to each other, making odd signals with their hands. They vanished in the blink of an eye, and the creatures of the woods continued to sing as if nothing was out of place.

As if everything would be alright, upon the sad whimpers of an Uchiha baby.

* * *

 Onoki stood on the wide balcony of his office.  Sheer curtains fluttering behind him at the open doors. Engaged in a slow hesitant dance, as if even the wind feared the man’s fury. The break of dawn had finally come through. The sky a hypnotic portrait of soft hues. Orange, pink and the fading darkness of the night passed.  Mist hovered over his village. Cloaking it from his sight. An illusion that Iwagakure still slept when it truth it had been wide awake long before the come of dawn.  Plumes of smoke ascended to the sky. White and thick as special wood burned below and the mist cleared from the heat. Drops of water descend upon Iwagakure for the action. Not quite rain, but just as cold.

With the mist gone, it revealed thousands of ninjas in formation that went on for miles in the Tsuchikage’s courtyard. War drums sounded. Slow, steady, warming the hearts of warriors who would set out to bring their village honour and glory.

Even at the cost of their own lives.

They moved as one. Chants echoing in the air as they transitioned from kata to kata. Feeling the pull of their chakra ready for war and bloodshed. They would have victory. Konoha would fall as their ritual pyres burned around them, a killer focus on the task they would soon complete.

“Impressive. How many are there? Hundreds…thousands? And how skilled?” The Tsuchikage said nothing as his companion joined him. A towering form that held onto the balcony railings and looked out at his army with a steady unreadable gaze. The man was tall with corded muscles and dark skin stretched tight over each curve. His hair was a strange ashy blond, verging on whit but not quite there. Beard sharp and moustache thin to frame his lips.

 He slowly inhaled a drag of tobacco smoke from his pipe. The sweet overbearing fumes filling his lungs with a satisfying burn before he exhaled with a soft hiss. The white smoke, almost as white as the one that curled in the air, as numerous ninja’s moved as one unit through there katas below, escaped his lips. Vanishing before him as if a ghost of the distant past.

“Skilled enough,” Onoki muttered, hand curling tight around the balcony railing as the drums sounded louder. A trance-like beat as the ninja of Tsuchikage increased their pace. They shouted to the heavens. Screaming their victory as they punched through the air, torch flames flickering as a sudden wind tore through the courtyard.

Kiai!

Kiai!

Old and young voices blended as one. A hive mind, as they moved in clothes of greys and black. Sweat slicking their backs and trailed down their temples. Exhaustion a mere construct of the human body’s weakness. It had no place with them.

 **A** , the Fourth Raikage of Kumo merely hummed, eyes narrowed as his gaze settled on an incoming hawk that glided over rocky mountains.  It was familiar. One that belonged to him he realized. A returning message from the feelers he had sent out in the dead of night.

“We will need more than skill if we hope to defeat Konoha. We may have the numbers now but when had that ever meant anything?”  **A**  turned to gaze upon the cold visage of the Tsuchikage. The man was old and frail, mouth set in a stubborn almost displeased frown, pipe hanging from his lips as he surveyed his men.

The man should have been far beyond his prime. Should have stepped down ages ago to make way for a new leader for Iwagakure. As it was the man saw no need for it. He was of the belief that he still had what it took to lead a village such as this one. In hindsight, perhaps he was right,  **A**  thought. Considering the army amassed below them. Loyal to the core, ready to do their leaders bidding without question.

“After all, years ago you had numbers yet the yellow flash disseminated Iwa forces in but the blink of an eye.” The Raikage sounded very much amused. A cruel smirk on his lips as the old man pinned him with an angered glare. They remained locked in a battle of silent wills. The tension was high, not even the arrival of the travel-weary hawk could break it. Until Onoki scoffed, ignoring the obvious attempt to get a rise out of him.

“Konoha no longer has a yellow flash. For how powerful they claim to be, they have grown weak and frail at the spine. What village puts effort into developing what little there is of their genius class, while the rest of their forces are left to rot at the heart?” Onoki didn’t bother to hide his distaste for such tactics. It boggled the mind that Konoha had remained on top for so long! Preaching words of peace and goodwill as it remained corrupted at its core.

“They stay on top because of their connections. The contract they have in the Tea country. The favour they have gained with the fire Daimyo and his court…the agreement they have with mercenaries and un-allied villages.” **A** muttered, silently unwrapping the message from the eagle's outstretched foot.

“Diplomacy and politics. An easy game to turn in our favour,” Onoki smirked as he removed the pipe from his lips.

“A game already in our favour. Konoha should have strived to better hide their demons if they hoped to project a village of goodwill to the masses,” **A** smirked right along, dark eyes quickly consuming every word written on the missive he had received.

 **A** ’s sudden stillness drew Onoki’s attention. His fellow Kage seemed awfully pleased about something.

“What? What is it?” Onoki demanded. Aged voice gravelly with the weight of a man who refused to be denied. the Raikage cast the man a sly look, the paper crumpled in his hand before it disintegrated before their eyes with a spark of lighting.

“The Akatsuki is down to two members. So much for an S-class organization! It seems that my ninja was able to take them down in one fell sweep!”

“Impossible!” Onoki’s pipe fell from his lips and clattered to the floor, the sound of his own ninja fading to the background as he stared up at the Raikage.

“Not impossible with patience and perfect planning. They were already down members.  Deidara who died by his own hand in his attempt to defeat Sasuke Uchiha. Juzo Biwa killed by the kage of the mist. Sasori killed by Chiyo of Sunagakure—”

“Cut the idle chatter! What of Nagato, the tailed beasts and the Gedo Statue!” Onoki hissed, having enough of **A** ’s blasé attitude. This was something of great importance! They needed Nagato and The Gedo Statue if they were to reign as the new order of the Shinobi world!

“Nagato is dead, Onoki. His blood preserved, his Rinenngan removed and sealed. We only need the blood of an Uchiha and two viable sets of Sharingan to power the Statue.”   **A** hummed, fingers tapping away at the balcony as he stared out at nothing. Silence settled between the two for a moment. Onoki’s stare boring into **A** ’s skull.

“Two members survived. Am I to assume that one is Itachi Uchiha?” A didn’t answer for a while, too focused on the message he had left unsaid. Onoki could tell that there was more to the missive that **A** had divulged.

“There is a rumour that Sasuke Uchiha has a son. A rumour that I knew as truth far before that revelation hit the spy networks of this land.” The war drums below suddenly became louder. Sweat caressing every curve of the men and women’s muscles as they raised their arms in the air and sounded each rhythmic beat against cured goatskin, stretched by bamboo.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The beat echoed. Jolting still hearts.

“Ah, Itachi Uchiha’s eyes are no longer viable, not with his illness. But the eyes of a young child—” Onoki trailed off, a knowing glint in his eyes.

“There is a woman. A curious one who travels with a babe, it’s possible that said child is Sasuke Uchiha’s progeny. She’s being watched as we speak, as soon as there is sure sign that the child is in fact Uchiha—”

“We’ll have his eyes, and his life and that of his father’s. We will activate the Statue and even if Konoha survived our forces combined, they would ultimately fall to the vessel that holds the ten tails.” Onoki picked up on what was left unsaid, turning away from the balcony to enter his office.

“And the tailed beast, the ones the Akatsuki had captured?”

“Secured and ready for use. There are only three beats left to collect. The Nine-tails that resides within Naruto Uzumaki and the two and eight-tails that reside within two of my most loyal shinobi,” **A** muttered, folding his hands over his chest as he stared at the rocky mountains of Iwagakure.

“Then it seems, Raikage, all is well. Konoha will soon fall. War, how sweet she is, sings loud and clear in the air. She sings of a victory already had.”

 

 

* * *

 Harry hummed softly as he sat by Ron’s side. Carding his hand through red hair, now free from grime but awfully thin. An old man puttered around the two. Working silently as he muttered to himself. Dabbing at Ron’s wounds with a cream that burnt the nose and left Harry’s eyes watery. He looked up briefly to see Sasuke leaned again the wall. Dark eyes trained on the scenery outside, a frown set on his face.

He was displeased Harry could tell. Despite their efforts, they had not been able to find a healer quick enough, and now they were behind two days according to Sasuke. Harry frowned, green eyes boring into the back of Sasuke’s head. The man looked his way for a brief moment before turning away without a word. Brows creased and hands clenched.

Harry glared at the motion but said nothing himself. Something was up with the Uchiha. There was a thick tension of words unsaid between them. Sasuke was colder than ever, not to mention his irritation the sicker Ron got and thus the more the man slowed them down.

Harry didn’t know what his problem was but—

The wizard watched as Sasuke stiffened, brows creased even further before he silently left the room. Harry was about to call after him. Demand to know what his problem was but didn’t get a word out when the village doctor they had found suddenly spoke.

“You have great feelings for this man I see. You have not left his side since I agreed to help him. Neither have you paid much attention to your lover, who watches your every movement like a hawk,” The old man smiled, eyes twinkling and reminding Harry so much of Dumbledore in that instant, that his heart seized for a moment. The resemblance was uncanny, though the wizard noted the strange caution that lay behind grey eyes. Harry, for a moment, was tongue tied, to the point that the man carried on thinking silence was his answer.

“A very possessive man. But who would wrong him when a beauty like you disregards his feelings for that of ano—”

“Sasuke’s not my lover!” Harry denied. Frowning when the old man gave a non-committal hum, hand glowing green as he assessed the wound in Ron’s stomach.

“Hmm, this wound was inflicted with a unique blade. An inch further and he would have been dead…yet—” The old man cut himself off, eyeing the space Sasuke had stood before, reaching for sterilized wires and a needle.

“Not his lover you say? Peculiar that…and this man, is he your lover then?” Harry frowned at the question. What did it matter if he was anyone’s lover! The doctor was irritating, and if this was his idea of small talk—

“He’s not my lover either.” Harry frowned, looking down at Ron’s pale face and shadowed eyes. Most of the cuts and abrasions on his face had been dealt with. Soothed with herbs and ointments that left the man’s skin oily.

“Hmm, curious that. If you don’t mind an old man’s prying, then what are these men to you? This one you show great love, refusing to part from his side. The other, you watch with just as much concern even if it would appear as anger to any other—”

“Sir, not to be rude, I’m grateful for your help, truly I am. But how is this train of conversation important in the grand scheme of things?” Harry sounded more scathing that he wished to but it couldn’t be helped. The man’s questions were irritating and left him thinking about things he shouldn’t even focus on when Ron had yet to awaken.

“Ah, just the ramblings of an old man dear,” The man smiled non-pulsed. Clipping away at the loose wire he used to stitch the wound in Ron’s belly closed. He nodded at his work, already moving to wrap the wound and reduce its exposure to the elements so that it could properly heal.

“Now, he’ll have to remain in my care for some time yet. With a wound like this, he can’t afford to move about when he awakens.” The doctor spun around to dig through the bag he carried along with him, pulling out two cases of pills.

“This one for the pain. And this one to ward off infection,” He placed the cases in Harry’s palm. Harry nodded, but before he could pull away, the man held on tight, staring into his eyes.

“Tell me, would your growing feelings remain the same if you knew?” The question was odd. Harry stared back in confusion, pulling at his hand. Wishing for the man to release him.

“What are you talking about?!” Harry hissed finally freeing his hand and stepping away. This doctor was—how could he tell?! How could he tell with just a look, how deeply he felt for Sasuke?!

How?!

If he could tell, could Ron as well?

But what would it matter if Ron knew?  

“Forgive me, it’s just that you remind me of my daughter you see! Same dark hair and beautiful eyes. She fell in love with a man, two of them actually—sorry—sorry—I’ve overstepped greatly!” The man babbled, hastily packing his equipment. Eyes flickering to where Sasuke once stood, back to Harry and then to Ron.

“Right, do forgive me!” The man bowed in apology, already making to leave. Reeling off contact information and imploring Harry to find him if Ron’s condition suddenly worsened.

“W—wait! What are you on about?!” Harry shouted, wincing when Ron groaned in pain. The wizard, despite the noise, remained unconscious, hand reaching for the warm space Harry had been seated.

The old man bit his lips nervously before looking directly into Harry’s eyes.

“The man you travel with. He’s not your lover—but the looks he gives you and you give him—you do know who he is, don’t you?” When Harry didn’t answer the man took a shuddering breath, eyes filled with pity. Harry didn’t know why his heart was pounding so fiercely, or why dread settled in the pits of his stomach.

All of a sudden, he didn’t think he wanted to hear what this man had to say. Flashes of Ron gasping for breath in his arms. Insisting on telling him something before he fell under.

_“You have to get away from that man, Harry!  You have to! He’s the one who—”_

Was Ron, in his fevered ramblings, referring to Sasuke? The one who brought the wizard back and released him into Harry’s arms. The one who returned with a sword covered in blood and Ron bleeding out before them both. Callous disregard painted on his face. Harry swallowed the lump forming in his throat.  Flexing his fingers in a nervous habit.

“Don’t fall for a man like that, young man. My daughter fell for someone similar and she—well—I must go!” The old man quickly said. Leaving as soon as he had spoken.

“H—Harry?” The hoarse voice pulled the wizard from his confusion.  Shocking him for a moment because, in truth, Ron should not have been awake so soon!

Harry hurried to his side, ignoring his racing heart and the thought of an absent Sasuke from his mind. He eased onto the side of the bed, the sheets rustling as he grabbed for Ron’s reaching hand, waiting with baited breath for those blue eyes to open.

“Ron?” He whispered. The man groaned, wincing in pain as he tried to get up but was refused the chance as Harry gently stopped him.

“You’ll open up your stitches!” Harry chided, biting his lips nervously when Ron refused

“Harry! Harry, you have to listen—!” Ron gasped out, obviously in pain as his eyelids flew open and revealed fevered blue eyes. The man looked wild. Spinning his head this and that way as he desperately searched for—

“It was him, Harry! It was him!” Ron shouted, gritting his teeth as the pain of his wounds hit him full force. The bandage around his abdomen became spotted with blood and that worried Harry greatly!

“Ron you have to calm dow—”

“They call him the traitor Uchiha, Harry! You have to listen! I have to tell you something!” Ron pushed on, grabbing onto Harry’s arm and forcing him to look directly into his eyes.  

Harry swallowed tight at the mention of Sasuke, remembering the glint of his blade. The splash of blood against this skin when he tried to get away.  His heart hammered in his chest as the images changed to moments when they found common ground. Laughed and teased. The moment he had slept with him, punishing thrust that he could feel days on end even after it was over.

How when Ron found them, his breath almost stolen away as he lost himself in onyx eyes and Sasuke’s strong hand heavy on his thigh—

“Tell me what, Ron?” Harry whispered. He didn’t even hear his own voice. He couldn’t hear Ron’s either. All he saw were torn, bruised lips, silently moving almost in slow motion. The roll of words over a trembling tongue and Ron’s tight grip that dug into his arm.

“—captured us and brought us to that place. He ripped me away from her when I tried to save her—”

Underwater.

That was what it felt like.

When you reached consuming depths, that not even the light of the sun can be seen and all you could hear was the slush of water clogging your ears. You were numb to feeling yet in a strange twist of fate you felt cold. You would open your mouth to speak but the grip of fear in your heart and guilt, so much guilt would keep you under.

Keep you silent.

He remembered how he arched into Sasuke’s touch. The burning fire against his skin. The one he still felt instead of anger as Ron’s lips moved and spilt their secrets. The way he cried for Sasuke, called for him and regretted it. Yet didn’t regret it.

_“—through the heart! She pleaded—through the heart!”_

_“—can’t be trusted!”_

_“—can’t be trusted!”_

_“They’re all mons—!”_

_“Monster!”_  Harry felt himself fall into the unforgiving wave of words that made sense...and felt something damming settle in the pits of his soul.

_“Monster, Harry!”_

“Ron…lend me your wand,” His voice sounded odd. Cold. Dead… but very much determined. The birds of the new morning squawked loudly. Fluttering their wings. Beady eyes staring through the open windows of the room Ron lay, heads tilted to the side.

* * *

  “This used to be his favourite place. Asuma would come here regularly. Maybe it was the peace and quiet or the reminder of his life as a member of Daimyo’s guard. He never much liked Konoha, even though was greatly loyal to her,” Shikaku muttered. Frowning at the cigarette that hung from his son’s lips as he stared out the expanse of a large lake. The lake was once a part if the Uchiha clan’s lands. Though, after the massacre, much of their wealth was claimed by the state. Even though an heir had still existed.

“He hated the third Hokage and by extension Konoha. He saw the village as the reason he lost his father. The man was more concerned about Konoha than his son…which, perhaps he ought to do as her leader,” Shikamaru released a breath of smoke. He wished he could kick the habit. Even if this particular brand left his breath minty and the smoke not as toxic as others…

Shikaku frowned, dissecting every word before turning away from his son to stare at the lake. Sleeping ducks, with their heads bent, floated silently along. Bumping into water lilies and their occupants, the toads.

“You sound as if you yourself hate Konoha. A symbol of law and order. Of fairness and good set by—” Shikaku was interrupted by Shikamaru’s scoff, swallowing tight as his son’s shadow flickered underneath him.

“Asuma was sent on a suicidal mission. One he had no hope of surviving. Despite his concerns, he was still sent after Hidan of the Akatsuki. Peculiar that this happened right after he had discovered something he shouldn’t have.”

“Danzo’s involvement in the Uchiha massacre. A massacre of which the Third Hokage knew the truth, and the current Hokage as well—”

“Shikamaru, you are smarter than this! To say this out loud is treason—” Shikaku begged, tears brimming in his eyes as the Anbu who watched them silently shifted in place.

“But you have already found me guilty haven’t you, father?” Shikamaru took one final drag before allowing the cigarette to fall from his lips. It burned a furious red at the tip, ashes settling on the ground before it was extinguished by the cold brush of wind that touched the land.

“And just like Asuma I will be executed with no one the wiser,”

“He’s just one man, Shika! This is madness!” his father screamed. Tears flowing free when The Anbu made themselves known, standing dutifully behind him.

“The man who killed Asuma, I was granted the chance of my revenge. Sasuke Uchiha of all people granted me the chance to avenge the man I saw as another father. The father that took your place when you became engrossed in the politics of this cursed village!” Shikamaru spat, not even flinching as the Anbu began to move forward, his father’s face streaked with tears.

Stray dogs that had overtaken the Uchiha district in the distance, howled in the night. Creating a terrible racket that if possible would awaken the spurned spirits of the dead Uchiha.

“He knows?! Sasuke Uchiha knows the truth of that—”

“There’s more to it than Sasuke seeking revenge in the form of killing his brother, Shikaku!” The Anbu was upon him! Shikamaru did not fight, hardly struggling when they bound his arms behind his back. Forcefully sealed his chakra and leaving him breathless as his awareness of the world faded

“Shikamaru Nara, due to allegations of treason to the head of state. Of syphoning information to the enemy of our village one Sasuke Uchiha you will be taken into custody and be put on trial!” Shikaku whispered, unable to look away from son’s fiery eyes.

“Sasuke Uchiha spiralled down a road of madness. One I can understand. He’s right that Konoha should burn to the ground! I cannot save him from the path he has taken. I cannot agree with many things he has done. How he has stolen innocent lives in his quest, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. A sentiment Konoha understands!”  Those were Shikamaru’s last word as he was hauled to his feet and spirited away to the Interrogation and Torture department.

* * *

 “It is done I presume?” Tsunade’s voice was hard and unforgiving as she flipped a blank piece of paper in her hands. Her Anbu had given it to her, something Shikamaru had sent out yet held no message. It both puzzled and angered he,r for it was proof that Shikamaru was in contact with someone outside of their borders. She  _knew_  it was Sasuke Uchiha, even if she could not prove it.

“He foolishly incriminated himself, he has been taken to the interrogation—”

“It was not a foolish act. He knows that Ino will be used against him. That she will walk his mind and find the truth of his betrayal there. He is saving himself the wait for the inevitable.” Tsunade muttered, dropping the piece of paper on her desk.

“What of Hatake? Have you—” The woman looked up at Shikaku, ignoring the signs of distress he so carefully tried to hide from her. She could understand his pain. She felt the same when Orochimaru was found guilty of treason.

“We believe he’s no longer in the village. We have sent Hunter-nins after him. Seeing he was once an Anbu, another elite squad would perhaps be best in tracking and retrieving him.” Tsunade said nothing, her hands clasped before her mouth.

“Naruto and Sakura?”

“Still within the village. They seem to have no knowledge of the passing events. Or have contact with Sasuke Uchiha.” Tsunade straightened her back, tapping her fingers against the solid wood.

“Sit Shikaku, take a drink,” She pointed to the saucer and sake presented on her desk. The man took a seat but did not take up the offer of a drink.

“The Akatsuki have been annihilated. There are whispers that Itachi and his partner still live, but are being hunted by Kumo shinobi. The question has been raised if Itachi should be recalled from his exile to secure at least one Sharingan,” Tsunade frowned as she collected her thoughts.

“You do not agree. If he is recalled, then questions will be raised as it concerns what truly happened on the night of the Uchiha massacre. It would be political suicide if it got out to the Daimyo and his court.” Shukaku could feel the unease settling in the pits of his stomach.

“Yes, and even if we dealt with Danzo, the stain will remain deep-seated at the core of Konoha.  Not to mention the roots Danzo himself have grown within our village. It is because of him we hold some powerful allies and treaties. His fingers caress integral parts of Konoha’s political background and by extension our military base.”

“Sasuke Uchiha knows the truth if what Shikamaru said is...” Shukaku trailed off. Swallowing tight at the thought of his son imprisoned. His wife, she would weep and then get angry. She would blame him for their son’s fate.  _Her_  son’s fate.

“Then the choice is made. Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha will not be allowed to live. I had said earlier to Naruto and Sakura that they should be returned to Konoha dead or alive. Well now, it’s simply dead.” Her voice was cold, strong and unwavering. Honey eyes resembling frozen glaciers than the warmth of a sunny day.

“This will keep the truth of the massacre away from the Daimyo’s court, it will also eliminate the chance that Kumo and Iwa get their hands on the Sharingan…”

“And the order still stands that Sasuke’s son is taken into the custody of Konoha. The council has spoken, the Clan Restoration act will be in effect once this is all over. The Uchiha clan born anew.” Silence settled between the two. The sounds of footsteps echoing in the halls of the Hokage tower loud to both their ears.

“Will you execute him?” Shukaku’s voice trembled for a second. He cursed at the show of weakness.

“He’ll be tried after his interrogation and—”

“Will he be executed?!” Shukaku shouted, voice breaking. Tsunade did not look at him with pity or an ounce of sadness, even as her hand trembled.

“Orochimaru was a traitor to our village. He was given the chance to escape and ever since has posed a risk to our village.” She needn’t say more. Shukaku fought down his sobs, nodding his head stiffly as he stood.

The doors suddenly banged open! It was Jiraiya, puffing for air, hands on his knees.

“It’s the Daimyo’s court! They seek an audience with Konoha! They demand answers for her crimes!”

Tsunade and Shukaku paled. Staring into each other’s eyes before the woman swiftly stood from her seat.

“Explain everything!”

* * *

  Harry took a deep breath. Releasing it as he listened to the chirp of toads and the rustle of leaves above him. He watched the silhouette of a man making his way up the dirt road towards him, his sword strapped to his side. His footsteps as silent as they ever were. A blank piece of paper in his hand.

Sasuke.

“You stabbed him in his abdomen.” The words held little emotion at first as Sasuke came to stand little ways away from him. Dark eyes unreadable and stance looming. Cold and callous like the first time Harry had met him.

“You stabbed her through the chest.” His words were measured as he gripped tight to Ron’s wand. Just like Draco’s, it felt odd. Rebelled against his touch and bit at his skin for daring to use it.

“She begged for mercy as she tried to escape. You did not care, she was expendable to you, and it did not matter what your master would have done to her. Could still be doing to her.”

“And why would I care?” Sasuke’s voice was dark and consuming as he took a measured step forward, dark eyes unwavering. Harry did not even flinch. Even when common sense told him to step back. Even as he could feel the seductive pull of the man’s chakra like never before, and his magic sang in joy.

He stifled the very thought.

“Why would I feel pity for a woman who means nothing to me? Expendable as you put it…” Another measured step forward, and suddenly his gait seemed more predatory than it ever was.

Harry raised the wand and pointed it at Sasuke, not that it stopped the man in his tracks. He still stalked forward, close enough that the pointed tip of the wand poked at the skin of his neck.

“You hurt them,” Harry whispered, glare fierce.

“I hurt them and felt nothing. Especially your red-headed friend,” Sasuke agreed, hand curling around Harry’s steady hand. There was so much left unsaid. Sasuke’s intense stare, the ugly emotion that stirred behind pools of tar.

Harry swallowed tight. Knowing what those emotions were and cursing himself for feeling so afraid. Not for his life…but afraid of that promise left to drift upon the waves of cold, night air.

A possessiveness. One he could equally tame or stroke the flames of. That was if Sasuke let him.

“He’s not my lover. He’s like my brother and her like my sister. They are my family, and you hurt them,” Harry whispered. The night suddenly became silent, the air so cold that their breaths misted over.

“And will you kill me now? Put me out of my misery with magic as you call it. Whisper words and take my life in revenge? Could you Harry, could you really do it?” Sasuke’s smirk was not friendly. It was taunting, but Harry saw beyond all of that. He saw the uncertainty in onyx eyes. He saw a war raged and the possibility of hurt. Emotions deep down in Sasuke that made him seem co cold an indifferent. Make him seem like the monster Harry had said he was so long ago.

“I could.  _I would_. You hurt them, you help put my sister in danger. But at the same time, you had no reason to care. They were your enemies. So yes, I could say the words. They would hurt because even knowing what I know there is still this heavy feeling settled in my chest…”

“You’re not a kind man. I want to know why. I want to see what made you this way, instead of hearing it from the lips of others. I want to know you and in the end, see if I can accept it—see if my  _feelings_  for you—” Harry stopped. He had just admitted clearly that he felt something for Sasuke. More than lust, more than—

Sasuke’s hand clenched his hand. Again he saw how their skin blended as one. Two moons he had said, glowing in the darkness of night. So wrong because Ron had warned him away. Was suffering in a bed because this man stabbed him through the guts for whatever reason.

“Feelings for me,” Sasuke’s voice was low, his grip tight a warning to Harry to be careful with what he sought to unleash. Sasuke had almost done it earlier, foolishly he might add... before he was interrupted by Ron.

Sasuke’s heart for the first time pounded painfully against his chest.  _Feelings_  for him. Feelings more than lust! Feelings that he never thought he would experience again. Not after Naruto, and even that did not compare. This was wild and  _dangerous_  and dark! This if he let it in could change so much, even though his duty screamed in his ear. A duty that would see him dead, he  _knew_.

“Foolish feelings that would have me look beyond mindless anger, acknowledge that you are a cruel man, but are so much more… let me understand,” Harry whispered, hand hesitantly reaching for Sasuke’s cheek. His breath hitched when the tips of his finger traced pale skin. When Sasuke allowed it.

And somehow, this moment felt even more intense than the time they fell into bed. A twist of lust and sex and uncertainty. Sasuke was sure that it was the souls of his ancestors that raged and howled in his ear. Cursed him for falling, for—

He should step away. He should. He should walk away from those much too honest green eyes and tempting lips that would whisper sweet corruption into his every being.

Set his blood aflame if he would  _let it_.

“You want to understand…then understand…Baby Doll,” Sasuke whispered. A shuddering breath as for the first time he  _trusted_  someone.  The last thing he heard was Harry’s soft sweet voice. The last thing he felt was a whisper of energy, magic, that crooned and wrapped around his ragging chakra, soothing and calm.

_“Leglimens_


	15. This be our El Dorado?

“Legilimens,” A spell Harry thought he would never utter as long as he lived. Yet here he was, pressed against the man who had hurt his family. The man who had taken his everything in but a single moment and turned it on its head. The spell left his lips like a whispered prayer. Soft and sweet as his voice carried like a song and a rush of magic curled from the wand that was not his. He fell into deep pools of molten Cassiterite, washed away by the waves of magic that curled from Ron’s wand and twisted and invaded Sasuke’s mind.

The descent into madness was swift! He felt the lurch of his stomach as if he were falling from 8000 feet without his magical broom or a muggle safety net. Rippling wind tore at his skin. Leaving a strange mixture of numb and insistent stings as he continued to fall with no end in sight. Darkness, whispery voices, the pull of corruption within, nipped at his ankles like a starved dog. One abused and had suffered too much!

His heart lodged in his throat as the harsh whispers of  _Legilimens_ screamed at him. Tore through his mind as he still fell. He was falling. Falling and there was no end to it!  A searing pain gripped him as his mind melded with Sasuke’s. A warning that this was wrong and that he had no place in a plane so sacred as a bridge was forcibly formed between them. Gold and shimmering, but ever so unsteady.

From where Harry continued to fall, darkness surrounded him, below in what should be a bottomless pit, the bridge glowed. Golden dust falling away from beautiful archways reminiscent of its own rushing waterfall, only to vanish in the echoes of Sasuke’s mind.

Suddenly he was no longer falling. On unsteady legs he found himself standing on that golden bridge. It was blinding…beautiful, but where he thought it would have been warm and welcoming, it was cold and unforgiving. Harry released a tense breath, swallowing tight when the bridge swayed threateningly and the intricate rope archways groaned in protest. He centred himself. Releasing another deep breath as the bridge stilled and he was left with an aching silence that stretched on for seemingly hours, despite the fact that it was but a few seconds that had passed since his descent.

A sudden wind blew in the expanse of nothingness, rocking the bridge once more as more gold dust fell. Harry couldn’t help his shivers as he desperately rubbed his arms, the sudden echoing whispers of Legilimens sounding again. He ignored it. This was normal, at least that is what he told himself. In truth, he only ever skimmed the surface thoughts of those he had used the spell on.

It was the first time…

It would be the first time that he had ever allowed himself to delve so deep into another’s mind. To see their darkest and most horrid secrets. To see who they were at the core without anyone able to stop him.

He ignored the flickers of hesitance within his heart, the guilt that weighed heavily in his stomach as Ron’s wild eyes seared itself into his thoughts. If the man saw him now, he was sure this would seem a betrayal. After all, it would seem to those not privy to his thoughts that he had caved to Sasuke’s whims. In truth…he had not. He was angry, an emotion that simmered underneath his skin and pulsed painfully inside his heart.

Despite this. Despite the anger and conflict of his own feelings that jeered and mocked him. He was no fool. Neither was he the reckless boy he had once been. That boy, that Harry Potter, would have blasted Sasuke to hell. Would have raged and screamed in reckless abandon! Stumbling about, uncaring if the opponent was seemingly stronger than him. He would shout to the heavens for retribution and the anger would cloud his judgment.

He would not care for the bigger picture. The fact that at present Sasuke was his only way home. He disregarded the thought that the juvenile Harry Potter, who fell too easily into the waves of emotion, would not have feelings for a man like him. A man like Sasuke. A trained and seasoned killer with…ambiguous morals.

 _That Harry Potter_  had always failed. That immature, much too emotional child had always run head first into situations and in the end, many were hurt and even died. That Harry Potter would revel in a brief satisfaction of self-righteousness only for it to fall apart and his world would come apart at the seams.

At 21, suffering through a war. Seeing what hasty decisions and emotionally fueled decisions resulted in, saw to it that the Harry Potter of old no longer existed. Despite the mask he so often wore. The one Sasuke had seen and soon chipped away without ever trying.

Caw!

The sudden cry of a crow jolted Harry from his thoughts, green eyes flickering above where the bird flapped its wings lazily. It glided through the air, trails of wind visibly as it looped and swerved. The creatures head tilted at an odd angle. Its neck seemed broken, twisted as it was, not that it cared. Its beady red eyes searching, dissecting him into pieces, red eyes with strange tomas that spun lazily.

The Sharingan, Haya’s whispers echoed.

The crow cawed again as if to tell Harry to follow. Without hesitation, he stepped forward. Steps quick and measured as the bridge swayed dangerously to the sides. Creaking and groaning as if it would fall apart. The intricate ropes that formed archways, as he looked closer, resembled snakes. They were snakes. Their bodies slithered and curled around each other, slender tongues tasting the air before they became still once more. As if they had never moved and what Harry saw had been his imagination.

The crow continued its flight. Confident that Harry followed as they moved along the bridge that gradually lost all colour and faded to an ashy grey. Before him stood a Ryōbu torii. A towering gateway high in the sky with beautiful pillars and swooping arches. A crimson red, so bright and fierce with the symbol of the Sharingan clan painted on both sides. The crow that guided him with its beady eyes, perched regally atop the torii, cawing at him.

If this was like Asian culture, what little he knew of it in his own world, at face value this Torri would symbolize a transition from profane to sacred. Yet Harry knew that the Ryōbu torii before him was simply a gateway that would lead to Sasuke’s memories. Sasuke’s life. To reveal who he was at the core. If he could understand without his emotions and morality clouding his judgment, then perhaps he could better make use of Sasuke’s help to complete his duty.

He ignored the lingering doubt that he did this because of what felt like lo—

 _“Monster, Harry!”_  Ron’s frantic shouts echoed in the darkness, fading upon the whistling wind. Voice groaned and moaned below him. Weeping and screaming at him. Telling him to step not a foot closer. You don’t belong, he could hear their rebuke.

 _“He’s a monster!”_  For once he willed Ron’s voice to shut up! Stop accusing him of something he was not guilty of. This was not betrayal! It was not! Far be it that he stands above judgment and prejudice like a fool. Far be it that he does not act the fool he pretended to be the very first time he had met Sasuke and declared him a monster!

 _“Stabbed her through the heart!”_  Yes, stabbed Hermione, his sister through the heart. The perspective of one who was hurt and filled with righteous fury. He stilled his shuddering breath his hands clenched tight as he remembered Sasuke’s uncaring eyes.

He admitted to it, yet…

 _“Monster!”_   He wanted to be selfish for the first time in his life. It was complicated his feelings for Sasuke, though they did not absolve him of his crimes against his family. Sasuke hurt them but at the same time he—

 _“Aren’t we all?”_  That deep baritone caressed his ear. The very words Sasuke had spoken on the night he had slaughtered those Ninja who he ran to for help. It reminded him that he himself was not innocent. He had stolen the lives of many wizards himself in the trances he had so often fallen. He had killed Lucius Malfoy before he was thrown in the veil. Draco’s screams of rage and pain should have kept him awake for nights on end, yet he slept soundly.

Monster.

If Sasuke was a monster, then wasn’t he as well? Harry straightened his back, lips set in a grim line as he walked through the Ryōbu torii, the crow watching his every move. He would see who Sasuke truly was no matter Ron’s cries of fury. No matter if his brother would hate him for this. He had always dedicated his life to others.

 _Always_.

He was the perfect nephew to an aunt who even though she hid it resented him. He was the boy—who—lived! He was the hero of the wizarding world! He was the one slated to be its martyr. Even in another world far removed from the war that plagued his own it was made clear that he must return! His decisions and feelings were always made with the thoughts of others in the forefront of his mind.

When Hermione and Ron had vanished, it was he who bore the brunt of the pain and grief! Bore the responsibility to return them home at the expense of his own life if necessary! It was selfish of him maybe that he didn’t want to feel that anger towards Sasuke even though he knew he should be angry!

He should want to wring the man’s neck! Ron and Hermione were his true family!

Yet...

…Ron and Hermione who were—in the Elemental Nations...

How were they…

Harry dismissed his frantic thoughts. He was spinning himself into a web of confusion and conflict! He moved forward and allowed himself to be enveloped in blinding white light. Legilimens echoing in his ear and Sasuke allowing him to understand. Allowing him to experience and live through his vulnerability. It would help him clear his conflicting feelings for the man. He would know outside of Ron’s sudden influence if he could live with himself for holding affection for the man who ruthlessly stabbed his sister through the heart.

The caw of the raven black crow and its oily shimmering feathers…

Echoing…

Echoing…

Silence.

* * *

 “So what’s the plan? You gonna go back to Konoha, is that it?” Kisame grunted, pulling a white cloth from his pocket as he watched Itachi doubled over before him. The Uchiha was all but on his knees, one hand holding tight to his stomach, another clamped over his mouth as raucous coughs rocked his body. His hair was loose, falling over his shoulders, damp from the fever he suffered from the previous night. It had yet to be broken, and left soft dewy skin flushed pink.

Itachi did not answer, grimacing at the bitter taste of blood in his mouth, wiping at his lips with the back of his hands. Specks of blood smeared on his hand and before he could even think about it a white cloth was pushed into is his line of sight. He looked up, eyes dazed and pained from the glow of the sun to see a non-pulsed Kisame, facing forward and mouth set in a grim line.

Without a word he gently took the offering for what it was. Kisame’s brand of comfort. His partner would not extend flowered words of concern or even physical comfort. He was more the abrasive, brute type that didn’t have a lick of common courtesy about him. He would more likely laugh at your misery than coddle and simper to ease anyone’s sensibilities. Delicate or otherwise.

Itachi appreciated it. It was far removed from his life in the leaf where he was surrounded by falsehood and bigotry. A sense of being he had dedicated himself blindly with the barest hints of regret.

“To return to Konoha would be an unintelligent move. My presence would upset the political climate, something that cannot be afforded if the whispers of war are true.” Itachi straightened from his bent position. He wiped at his mouth, grimacing at the spots of blood as he forced himself to just breathe. His lungs screamed at him. Feeling as if it was riddled with holes as desperately tried to consume fresh air.

It left his chest a strange mix of aches and constant burning. Perhaps like heartburn but worse. He didn’t protest as a bottle of pills was placed in his hand, Kisame’s cool skin feeling uncomfortable when he was racked with shivers he could hardly contain.

The shark-like man scoffed at Itachi’s comment, fingers slowly caressing the handle of his Samehada. They were being followed he could tell, yet the ninja made no move to attack. Content to observe without lifting a finger. Almost as if the interest they had once had in them—no in Itachi had waned. Itachi…was no longer important. The man was merely a game to be played now.

Curious that.

“Your loyalty to that cesspool of village truly baffles me, Itachi. A loyalty that would see you leach the life from your precious mother. The one who loved you endlessly as much as she loved the son you tortured and help rip apart. ” Kisame’s smile was cruel as he silently counted the shadows that watched him. Was it Kumo again or was it Iwa?

Itachi spoke of a whisper of war as if the very notion had not been established. Akatsuki had been wiped out leaving only the two of them in its wake. War had begun and soon Konoha and its allies should it have any left would be left to defend itself against two villages that had united against them. Two villages who sought the Sharingan for whatever purpose yet seemingly ignored Itachi’s very existence.

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand!” Itachi glared barely desperately stifling another painful cough as he shook the pills into his hand. Kisame found his actions of the past baffling he could tell. To be truthful even he himself could not define why he did the things he did, or the way he did them.

He was a ninja of the leaf first and foremost. Despite the mutterings and unrest of his family, he understood that the greater good must prevail and his families comfort meant little in comparison to the wellbeing of Konoha. He was a young boy who had a duty, a terrible duty the moment he rose from the ranks and became the first Uchiha to ever occupy a post of seemingly true power. An Anbu. So much expected of him. So many paths carved by his family, carved by his village…

Slowly as he lost himself at just 13 years old and became disconnected from his very own clan, never able to identify with them as he did his brethren’s in the Anbu. The way he connected with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the will of fire that was Konoha’s striving moto. He had become more Itachi of the leaf village with trembling hands and a skipping heart than Itachi of the Uchiha Clan.

The image of his little brother and his chubby cheeks flashed before his eyes. The sight made his heartache worse than his chest ever could. If hadn’t done what he had done… if he hadn’t caved to Danzo’s demands, then Sasuke would be dead! His little brother would be dead because regardless the Uchiha clan would have been wiped out of existence. His mother and father would not have backed down from their schemes to upset the given order. He  _loved_  his brother, the innocent soul who would be torn down and buried under his instinctual loyalty to a clan that would have spelt his destruction.

If the Uchiha were allowed to forcibly take the reins of a village that was not truly theirs there would be an unimaginable backlash. The move would have weakened Konoha from an internal war as another hovered at her gate. The Uchiha would bare the label of betrayers and rebels to the established order. Its name stained and every member of the clan—Sasuke would have to bear the brunt of hatred from a village that should be his home at such a young age. Only seven.

He did what he had to do. Even if it hurt, at least Sasuke was alive though now he barreled down a road of darkness and severed his ties to Konoha, his home. That could be fixed though. His brother had Naruto, the blond would be the only one to save him from the path of eternal darkness. For who else was there?

He…wanted his brother’s forgiveness. He desperately wanted it! For the man to absolve him of sins and wash the stain of Uchiha blood from his hands. Forgive him through death. Kisame had said once that Sasuke would not fall into line but he knew better. Sasuke would always complete his duty.

“Maybe because there is nothing to understand. In the end, you were a ‘yes man’. You worked for the greater good of a village corrupted at its very foundation. A willing dog that sought to please its master without independent thought or logic. It’s what your brother thinks, and unfortunately for you as much as you would wish it, that man will not forgive you.” Kisame spared Itachi a mocking glance before he unravelled his Shamehada. Itachi didn’t even flinch as Ninja suddenly swooped from the air. Weapons drawn and ready to attack.

With ease he twirled on the balls of his feet, still shaking out pills as he dodged the swiped for his neck and flipped away from the thrust of a slim sword that sang as it sliced through the air. Almost with practised ease, he threw the pills in his mouth, arching backwards as Shamehada swung overhead and tore through there would be attackers.  The crumbled in a heap, blood pooling around them, some of that very blood landing on his cheek and like a parody of tear slipped down his flushed skin.

“Genin. Over enthused Genin, it seems we are to be mocked,” Itachi frowned, his breaths more laboured than they should. His vision swam and he was stumbling against Kisame before he even knew it. The man did not catch him, allowing him to collide painfully into an unforgiving chest. Typical Kisame and Itachi would not have anticipated otherwise.

“You want it, don’t you. Your brother’s forgiveness in the form of his sword thrusting through your heart. You want to die before him adding yet another trauma to the tragedy that is his life, why Itachi I thought I was the cruel one in this partnership.” Kisame grinned, sharp teeth and all as he pushed Itachi away from him.

“My clan’s destruction was a necessary evil and I the willing tool. They would have torn apart the very foundation that the Shodai Hokage and Nidiame Hokage strove to build.  Peace without the hunger of power lingering in the background. As I said, I don’t expect you to understand.” The Uchiha was very dismissive as he steadied himself and slipped the bottle of pills in his cloak. There were only a few left. He would need to seek a refill from the closest village he could find.

“The foundation they created? Funny, I thought Konoha was a concept belonging solely to Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.” Itachi said nothing, refusing to crumble in light of Kisame’s baiting. It wasn’t like he could deny the accusation. He had valued…still valued Konoha over loyalty to his family. So very un-Uchiha like.

Kisame merely snorted when Itachi refused to say a word, already walking ahead of him. As he passed the cooling corpse of the Genin he had slain he wondered of Kumo’s and Iwa’s sudden lack of interest in Itachi once again.

“They say…your brother…that he has a son. You might have nephew dear Itachi. An innocent nephew who has nothing to do with the politics of this land. I wonder…is this why Kumo and Iwa have lost interest in you?”  Itachi froze at the words, a sudden feeling of dread sitting heavy on his shoulders as he turned to face a smirking Kisame.

A son?

“Oh, you didn’t know? Last I heard, Kumo was tracking a woman who seems to have said child and Konoha, your precious Konoha is on the hunt. I hear whispers of a Clan Restoration Act once the war blows over.” Kisame laughed, slipping past Itachi and strapping his sword to his back once more.

“Sasuke has a son?” Itachi whispered. He couldn’t fathom it. His brother that was so dedicated to his revenge. The one who would free him from his sins with his death. He had a son. Was he conceived out of love? Did Sasuke love him more than anything in the world?

Sasuke had a son. He had a nephew who Kumo, Iwa maybe even Orochimaru wanted. Konoha…

“You know where they are! Tell me!” Itachi demanded. Voice frigid as Kisame stopped in his track.

“What? Suddenly going to play hero. It—Ta—Chi?” The man grinned, licking his lips as he saw the warning clear in Sharingan red eyes.

“Kisame—”

“If you go after them, try to protect your nephew for whatever reason, you stand against Konoha,” Kisame reminded. Amused by the fierce light that suddenly shined in Itachi’s eyes.  

“Tell me where they are.” Itachi ignored the tightness in his chest. That baby—was the child still a baby—how old was Sasuke when he had a child?!—was innocent. For a moment he forgot all about his loyalty to Konoha and what was expected of him. He thought of Sasuke—and it just occurred to him that he didn’t know what his brother looked like at 23—and how desperate he might be to save his son that was suddenly in danger.

Did he even know from wherever he was?

“I wonder. Would Sasuke forgive you if you save his son? Another way to repent of your crimes, Itachi?” Kisame mused to himself, laughing to himself as he continued walking.

“A little birdy told me once—” Kisame’s voice trailed off with the wind, Itachi catching up to him, silent by his side. So they weren’t going back to Konoha then. They were going after Sasuke’s son. They were going to protect the little Uchiha brat while papa Uchiha was hold up wherever he was.

He could see it now. Sasuke slicing through the both of them with his sword the moment he realized they—Itachi was so close to something so precious to him.

He couldn’t help the amused laughter that left his lips.

“Oh, and I think you better rethink the nine-tail brat having the ability to save your precious Sasuke  _with the power of love_. The last time I heard, he has a pretty young tail hanging around him. One that gives him hell and he doesn’t even care,” The fact that Itachi almost tripped over his own two feet was enough for Kisame to release that raucous belly laugh he had been holding in for some time now. When the man in question did not get is bearings and actually face planted, Kisame almost died, tears falling from laughter filled eyes.

* * *

 It was…beautiful. It was the only thought Harry had as he became lost in the scene before him. There were so many trees, Sakura trees and their shedding limbs. Soft pink almost white petals floating in the air as the wind spoke in hushed voices. The chorus was loud, only ever broken by the almost ominous hums that sounded when the wind increased and sent the beautiful Sakura trees into a violent frenzy. Forcing them to trash about, their barks bending at odd angles, only to bounce back and through their limbs up in rejoice.

Harry dismissed the thought that the hums in truth reminded him of the muggle vehicles he had seen in England, with their sputtering exhaust pipes and shiny exteriors.

He quietly removed the petals that had blown in his hair, allowing them to fall from his fingertips as he looked around and wondered where in truth he must go. Other than the trees and the inverted sky—

Yes, the sky was inverted. A sprawling expanse of soft pinks, oranges and lavender that blended together as if it were the break of sweet dawn.  Inverted because it was not soil or even a representation of ground that he stood. Suddenly everything he had ignored came into focus. The fact that the Sakura trees themselves were inverted. Swaying proudly upside down where they sky should have been. They no longer moved fiercely. Instead, they seemed to be stuck in slow motion like some muggle film.

The sound of a babe wailing echoed behind him. A sound so startling that Harry’s heart leapt for the proverbial heavens as he spun around frantically.

“That’s it, Uchiha-sama! You did so well!” Harry didn’t even flinch when the scene suddenly changed and he found himself inside some clan house. A woman lay exhausted upon a wide raised futon. Her beautiful black hair soaking wet as it curled around her neck and her moon kissed skin shun with perspiration. She smiled a strange sad smile as she held up shaking hands, a swaddled child placed in her arms for her efforts. This was…this was Sasuke’s mother! Harry moved for a closer look, amazed by the uncanny resemblance. He had grudgingly always thought Sasuke to be a beautiful man, but seeing his mother…

A birthing room. What he assumed were clan mid-wives fluttered around the woman. Wiping the sweat from her forehead as they removed bloody sheets from the futon. Gently wiping at her bloodstained thighs as the babe in her arm wailed.

“The request for the Uchiha to return to the heart of Konoha has been denied. The Hokage insists that it is only right that the Uchiha remain where the force is based if we are to be seen as the enforcing body of civilian law,” It was a man who spoke. He was tall and rugged with shoulder length dark hair. What seemed like stress lines extended from the corners of his eyes and away from the bridge of his nose.

“Mikoto,” he began gently, moving to stand beside the woman, staring down at his precious newborn son. His second child that he would love as much as the first.

“Husband, we are to be punished for the only crime that we have committed, and it’s simply that we were born Uchiha. Descending from the same bloodline of our cousin Madara who abandoned Konoha and the oaths he made to protect her with all that he was,”

“We will forever be shunned and stripped of our dignity. Spat upon and reviled by our fellow ninja and civilians. Until our power and resources are needed. Then they will grant us falls praises as they drain from us all that we are until we have outlived our purpose” Mikoto’s words were bitter as she hushed her child. Angry tears smearing her sunken cheeks as she caressed her baby’s soft skin. Her precious Sasuke.

“Itachi, Sasuke, they will become tools for a village who would see to their destruction once they are of no use to this cursed place!” The woman stared up at her husband, eyes set aflame with the angry glow of the Sharingan.

“Then what do you propose we do?” Fugaku sighed, slumping in the chair placed before his wife. Harry from where he stood in the corner of the memory, obviously one deep-seated as Sasuke was but a babe who could not hope to understand the current situation, could sense the anger and resentment. He could feel the deep hopelessness and pain for a clan that was oppressed and segregated from their peers.

His eyes strayed to Sasuke. The babe was so innocent. Looking so much like his son Saijun, with wide onyx eyes that would knit together in discomfort and as a result decided to remain closed.

He felt the echoes of his parents’ emotions mixing with his own. The yearning for freedom and happiness. Harry’s chest suddenly felt terribly heavy, as if he himself was the one who experienced oppression.

“I wish that we could leave. You, me, Itachi, Sasuke and our clan. That we could flee to our allies. Flee to the Daimyo of fire—”

“We have no allies, wife. The moment Madara ‘betrayed’ Konoha, we lost our allies to the leaders of this village. The leaders who twisted Madara’s plight as nothing but the ravings of a mad twisted man and by extension a mad twisted clan.” Fugaku interrupted his wife. Heart heavy as she glared up at him for not even considering their escape from Konoha.

“Then…we will all die here, and our sons pitted against each other and destroyed. You see it too don’t you, even at five Itachi’s loyalty is steadfast to Konoha and not our clan. I will not allow the same for Sasuke, and so when the time comes they will destroy each other.” Mikoto’s voice was frigid as her Sharingan finally faded to reveal her ice chip diamond black eyes.

Harry’s heart seized at the ominous words and soon the scene was rapidly changing. Scene after scene past him by. Blurs of greys and black as his world spun and the angry hum of wind screamed in his ear. He felt as if he would heave, desperately pressing his sweaty palms into his stomach as if the action would stop the oncoming sick.

Like a train that haltingly screeched along rusty railway tracks in the case of an emergency, angry sparks flying and smoke billowing from its engine the memories stopped. He was plunged into darkness with only the terrified screams of a child for company.

There was an attack. A nine-tailed fox! Chaos and destruction reigned and in the end, suspicious eyes fell on the Uchiha. They were pushed to outskirts of the village even more. Thier land was taken from them. It was if they were never a founding clan of the leaf.

“Why! Why, brother!” A tiny voice gripped in the throes of horror and pain.  

“Why?!” A roaring screech that tore at one’s throat and left it raw. Harry gripped his heck in response, feeling the horrible burn and the taste of blood on his tongue! He couldn’t even prepare himself as the memories whirled around him.

Sasuke and his brother. They were smiling and the boy was so happy.

Sasuke as he watched his father weep at night, his hands gripped tight in his hair, threatening to tear the strands out. The man whispered about freedom! Whispered about needing this cycle that would destroy his family! Desperate as he watched his older son be consumed by Konoha. Lose his identity as an Uchiha and instead became a loyal dog to the village that would see the Uchiha wiped out of existence.

Mistrust bred into life by Tobirama and the men that followed after him.

The constant change of happy to sad and outright furry made Harry sick and he doubled over in pain. Tumbling to the floor that was not a floor, but the night sky! Suddenly he was falling into a void he couldn’t escape and a crow cried out in the distance.

He was drowning!

He swore he was drowning! And it was then that he realized these emotions were not his own! They were Sasuke’s! Did the man always feel like this?! As if he was suffocating as he walked among them with the heavy weight of duty, resentment and anger resting on his shoulders and curving his spine.

“510,400…”

“511,400…”

“512,400…”

Someone was counting. A trembling voice racked with madness. Suddenly the darkness that consumed Harry faded and he was staring up at a blood red sky. A district was set alight. Crumbling as it was ravaged by unforgiving fire. Blood soaked dirt roads and haunted screams echoed through the night air.

Harry from his spot, prostrate along a bloodied floor, the crimson liquid soaking into his clothes and staining his skin, saw Sasuke a boy of only seven years old. He stood and watched his father and mother cut don before him. Their blood splattered against his face and soaking his sandals as the liquid pooled around them to reach his feet.

A massacre Harry realized. A massacre Sasuke was forced to watch at the memory seemingly glitches. Repeating over and over as large Sharingan eyes appeared in the sky and peered down at them with hatred. The eyes bled and suddenly rain was blood that they could not escape.

Sasuke’s terrified screams tore through the air. The boy falling to the ground and foaming at the mouth as his brother, Harry did not know how he knew that man was his brother, stood over him with a sword. Sharp glistening steel.

“513,400…”

“514,400…” As the counting increased so did the frequency of the memories. Harry who lay on the ground was forced to watch the massacre of the Uchiha clan over and over. Forced to watch Sasuke’s parents die before him at the hands of his brother and in the distance…Konoha smiled.

“518,400…”  Harry was horrified when he realized that in this very night when Sasuke had suddenly found himself responsible to avenge his clan he had witnessed their death 518,400 times, trapped by the cruel mercy of his brothers glowing red Sharingan.

The memory slowly faded and Harry was plunged into darkness once more, tears streaming from green eyes. He sobbed, Sasuke’s pain suddenly became his and memories whispered about Sasuke’s path of darkness, Harry began to understand.

“I’m sorry, Sasuke. I’m sorry,” Harry whispered, not knowing why he apologized as there was nothing for him to be sorry for. Lazily the other memories danced around him.

He saw when Sasuke made his choice. Watched as grew up in the home where his family was killed. Every morning he would stare at the spot where his parent’s blood still stained, the howl of the wind his only companion. Konoha left an orphan to suffer surrounded by memories of his family’s destruction. No finger was lifted to help secure said child’s sanity.

He was isolated. Admired by foolish girls and boys who could never understand what he had lost. He was bitter until he wasn’t and met a boy named Naruto. A chance to be understood he had thought, he had fallen in love, until he had fallen out of love. Naruto did not understand, too naive.  Harry saw when Sasuke sought power to accomplish a goal Konoha would allow him to accomplish.

Guilt weighing heavily in his stomach as he thought of betrayed blue eyes. Thought about the one who chased him endlessly. Back then not even he realized how selfish his first love had been. Forcing and guilt tripping him to return to a village that he no longer saw as home. Not even in light of pretty blue eyes and a bleeding pure heart. He did not condemn him though, for Sasuke knew he himself was a selfish yet selfless being.

Harry was blank as he felt Orochimaru’s cruse seal burn underneath him. Icy fire under his skin as more memories assaulted him.

He saw Sasuke grow strong under Orochimaru’s tutelage. Watched as he got even more powerful as his hands became stained with the blood of innocent…who were not so innocent. He saw Sasuke talking to a man who seemed the same age of him with a cigarette in his mouth. He learned from him the truth of the massacre and so his duty changed. Itachi would pay recompense for his crimes and Konoha who ordered the death of his family would be destroyed.

Harry gasped when suddenly he saw Hermione. His sister who tried to escape from Orochimaru. She had reached far until Sasuke was sent after her. She fought him, firing spells that sliced through Sasuke’s skin. He did not realize what he saw or what he felt. To him an invisible jutsu that held no trace of chakra.

They struggled she fired the familiar green spell that would see Sasuke dead as they tumbled through the forest. He dodged and in a move too quick he thrust his sword through her heart. He realized that whatever had happened, though he did not understand it, would have seen him dead. He reacted on instinct to kill the one who would have killed him first.

Through her heart…no, it wasn’t her heart. As much as he had reacted, his actions were calculated. It was near her heart, missing all the most vital arts her. She would be incapacitated. She would bleed heavily and be subject to severe pain as she faded out of consciousness, but she would live.

Sasuke didn’t care Harry could tell, but, he was not unnecessarily cruel like he would like others to believe.  He wasn’t a good man by far, Harry knew that, and he could understand what made him the way he was. What he did was the standard reaction of kill or be killed.

He watched as Ron was stabbed through the gut as the man known as Kabuto tried to use him as a shield. He watched as for a moment Sasuke contemplated letting Ron bleed out. A dark emotion fueled by…

“Have you seen all you wanted to see?” Suddenly Harry was standing in the same space where the sky was inverted and the Sakura trees shed their beautiful blossoms. The sky now was a mixture of navy blues and deep consuming purples. Each colour swirled under Harry’s feet and signified that the day had come to end.

At all sides, different Ryōbu toriis stood tall and proud. Blood red. Pathways to other parts of Sasuke’s mind. One, in particular, had golden chains that pulsed and called him to peer inside. As gold as the bridge, he had crossed to enter Sasuke’s mind that pulsed with his magic and stirred something within him. It seemed more magical than of chakra…seemed too familiar as if it were his magic that pulsed as chains around that Ryōbu torii.

It was almost as if it were a magical bond, Verum Par…but that couldn’t be right! The bond of a true match. Two beings so compatible that their magic would…

No, Sasuke was no wizard it wasn’t possible!

“Am I monster to you now, now that you know why I do the things I do? Why I strive not to care about any other than—”

That voice, it was Sasuke. Harry turned to face the man, unsurprised when instead a humanoid being stood before him. The being’s skin resembled the beauty of outer space. Small stars and planet that lit up the void that existed beyond earth. At its neck, the curse seals pulsed. It bled a strange orange colour, the symbol seemingly melting away for each second Harry and the beings consuming dark eyes that held no pupils, remained locked.

“Sasuke,” Harry watched as the being morphed and slowly pale skin revealed itself, as tar seemingly pooled at the man’s feet. A corruption that was controlled and known by its host. Sasuke’s darkness. The curse seal slid from his skin and fell into the pool of molten tar.

“You are a broken man,” Harry whispered. Memories still flickered around them. Ones of Sasuke deciding to have a child with a woman he respected. Ai’s sister. There was love between them, more familial than romantic but love none—the—less. She accepted him and wished for his happiness as she carried his child. The heir to the Uchiha clan. She whispered to him in the dead of night of one that would come to be his—

Then there were the memories of himself. Sasuke’s confusion about him. How suddenly he had invaded Sasuke’s thoughts and will.

How for the very first time something fierce burned inside him. Harry had become something he wanted desperately. To feel his soft lips against his, to consume him and have him at his side as he waded through the murky waters that represented his duty.

To have him if only for the moment before duty stole them from each other.  

Harry felt very uncomfortable with the revelation and strong emotions. It took all that he was to not look away from Sasuke’s knowing eyes.

“You say that as if I was ever whole.” Sasuke’s voice echoed, and as it echoed Harry felt the pull of his magic that removed him from Sasuke’s mind.  In reality, it seemed he was pressed closely to Sasuke’s body, the man’s strong arms around his waist.

“There is this thing about Uchihas, you see Harry. We love too much, we love too fast, and we love too hard.” Harry shivered when Sasuke whispered this in his ear. He felt the grip on Ron’s wand loosen as he slowly rested his hands against Sasuke’s chest. The familiar scent of cinnamon and spices that had always pulled him in the moment he had met Sasuke filled his senses, and without thinking he released a shuddering breath.

“People see your darkness as just that, darkness. They fail to understand your ambition and drive. You seek revenge not necessarily as it concerns your brother though he is a part of it. You seek revenge against the system Konoha and you wish to see it fall. You seek power to do so by any means necessary, even it turns you into a monster. A monster for which you are not.Though your path is not without fault and wrongdoing,” Harry didn’t dare raise his voice higher than a whisper. Almost afraid that the feelings inside him would overflow and he would say something he could not afford to say he realized.

His feelings for Sasuke had no place here when he saw his memories. Sasuke needed no distractions and neither did he. He realized that now. What he felt must be let go and as soon as Sasuke helped him to return to his own duty, he must let the man go. He would return to the wizarding world with Ron and Hermione by his side and forget this world he had come to know.

Sasuke said nothing, tightening his hold around Harry’s slim waist. Breathing in the soothing scent Harry always had, his warmth seeping into his own body.

“I find myself not so different from my clan. We are impulsive creatures with the mere whisper of—it would be counterproductive to my cause to have the likes of you by my side. It is why I agreed to help you. I wanted you out of my sight, out of my existence so that I would pursue my goals without a second thought. Then that redhead came and I saw how much you loved him. How your heart bled for him” A mere whisper upon Harry’s skin. That deep baritone leaving his mouth dry as anxiety built within him.

“Don’t say it. Please, don’t because it would be untrue.” Harry whispered desperately. He stared up into Sasuke’s eyes as the man pulled away slightly, though his arm remained a terrifying chain wrapped around his waist. Don’t say it he begged with pretty green eyes. Tongue feeling like lead, stuck in his mouth, refusing to form words. As much as he refused to pull away. Hand tightening in Sasuke’s shirt. He could practically feel Sasuke’s heartbeat against his own.

He was returning to the wizarding world! He was! None of this mattered. What mattered was Ron and Hermione and his duty to the world that had birthed Harry Potter, The—boy—who—lived. It didn’t matter that he wanted a story to be written for Sasuke and himself. For them to have some bloody fairytale ending with them riding off to find El Dorado, the land of dreams and happiness.

Sasuke cupped Harry’s soft cheek. Caressing the skin with a calloused thumb, tracing that same thumb over pouty red lips that resembled the petals of delicate roses.

“I wondered if your heart would bleed for me too. If only for a brief second as I think that in the end, I do not want to die. That I want to achieve my goals and still live, with the name of the Uchiha carved into my back and my son happy with me in the new world I would build him”

“D-don’t—” Harry glared, trembling hand clasping around Sasuke’s. If Sasuke ever—

“Would it, Harry? Would your heart bleed for me like it bleeds for him and for your sister that I cut down? Bleed for me now that you know me and my past and future. Bleed for me when I say—” Scorching hot flames! That was what this was! Sasuke refusing to let him go. Forcing him to hear this, forcing him to question where his loyalty lies, because guiltily he didn’t want to carry his duty. He didn’t want to fulfil it! He never had but was being forced to!

“—ever so impulsively. Ever so truthfully and with vindictive glee that I might very well care for you and in time love you, Harry, precious Baby Doll.” Harry’s world stilled, he refused to cry for this as he glared hellfire at the man that held him. The man he had feelings for. The man who was so suddenly forcing him to confront said feelings while looking so honest. By suddenly allowing himself vulnerability made worse because Harry could now understand him.

“ _Fucking hell_ , Harry. What is this! What’s going on?!” Harry didn’t even flinch when Ron’s voice suddenly sounded. The effect should have been as if cold water was suddenly thrown over their heads. Instead, he stayed glaring into Sasuke’s seemingly emotionless eyes. Seeing farther than he ever could and realizing how much Sasuke felt. How much he was forcing him to see.

Overhead a crow cawed. One just like the one that watched Harry in Sasuke’s memories.

“Harry! And you, get away from him, you monster!” They both ignored the pained man.

“You are a cruel man, Sasuke. Cruel and unfair,” Harry whispered, pulling away from Sasuke and cursing himself for already missing his warmth.

“I never claimed to be otherwise, love,” Harry flinched at how easily the word slipped from Sasuke’s lips. The man said nothing else, walking past Harry as the crow landed on his shoulders, a piece of paper tied to its foot. Ron glared from his spot leaned against the door frame. Blood seeping through his bandages. Sasuke paid him no mind.

“Bloody hell, Harry! You should have been blasting him to bits after what I told you! Yet here you are in his arms, looking like you were about to kiss—” Ron sounded disgusted and betrayed. Harry…he just felt numb.

“—you can’t be serious! He stabbed her, he stabbed me and—”

“Ron…there is something plaguing my mind. I know how I got to the Elemental Nations. I was thrown through the veil, yet…for some reason, I don’t think it’s the same for you.” Harry turned to face his best friend and the one he considered his brother. He watched as something flickered behind blue eyes, guilt.

“How did you get here? You and Hermione. You vanished for months when I was in the wizarding world. That, and how were able to track me, it’s obvious that you somehow knew where I was. Something odd, because if you were thrown through the veil, why would you assume or how would you know that I was thrown in as well?” Something uneasy settled in Harry’s stomach when Ron did not answer.

Something uneasy that mixed with the fierce emotions that Sasuke forced to the surface as much as He would like to ignore it now.

“Ron…how did you get here? How did you know I was here?”

* * *

 “Tomorrow, Sasuke and your precious friend will be here tomorrow,” Orochimaru smirked as he caressed Hermione’s cheek. The woman flinched violently from his touch, unable to get away strapped down as she was.

“It’s just a feeling I have. Your Harry will translate these runes for me, he will lead me to where I want to go…not before I take Sasuke Uchiha’s body as my own.” Orochimaru laughed, only to begin coughing. Blood splattering against his pale hand.

His body was rejecting him. It was a full time he took his payment for training Sasuke, and even better collect his son for when he would be in need of yet another vessel.


	16. For whom the bell tolls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'll be quite busy this Saturday so I tried to get this chapter out to you all before 'busy' took over my life lol. Tell me what you all think! Now. Me and my exhausted self will be going straight to bed. My day starts at 3:00 am.

“It is over! The disrespect, the rebellion the little hope you had of overthrowing my reign before it had ever begun.” The drawling voice carried over the subjugated masses. Wizards from far and wide, covered in grime, and hallowed cheeks marched along in lines. Their necks were linked together by heavy chains that cut into their paper-thin skins. As heavy as the shackles that rattled at their feet. Dull eyes would briefly look up to the Messiah they were forced to accept, hanging their heads in shame and despair for being too cowardly to stare their saviour in the eyes.

The sun never came out anymore.  One would think it never existed as the whisper of a Scourge ravaged their lands. Pillaged its fortune, and leaving a world of destitution behind. The sky was always a mass of consuming grey. Painted with the plumes of smoke that would rise from their scorched land, the air heavy with ash that burned at their parched throats. Their bodies bereft of water for the precious commodity was scarce and fleeting unless their Lord would grant them some reprieve.

A gift only granted if they bent their backs and allowed the fire rocks that was their soil to dig into their delicate knees, their wands, taken from them and set aflame on a sacrilegious fire.

“Harry Potter is dead! The golden boy! The boy who lived only to die and to what end? Whether he lived or not the outcome would be the same. You will all bow at my feet as I usher our world into a new age, for I am a god. I am your god.” Tired eyes looked up at the man who spoke. An imposing figure draped in robes of pitch black, regal as he sat upon a throne made of basilisks bone. His wand hung from his thin fingers, tapping lazily against the arm of the throne. A soft tapping sound unimaginable loud in the thick silence that overtook the crowd.

Draco Malfoy cursed to himself as he watched from the shadows, a tattered grey almost black hood hiding his features as he hid in the shadows of the ruined Hogwarts castle. He watched his fellow wizards and witches pulled by chains and forced to pledge their allegiance to a madman. His aunt Bellatrix cackled like the insane bint she was, her blackened nails resting on the swell of her stomach. The mad duelist that so many feared was with child. The firstborn of Voldemort if he allowed it and did not kill the babe as soon as it was born.

After the disaster to recover the veil from Voldemort’s clutches things had steadily become worse. The war the ragged pitted wizarding folk and their magical counterparts against each other. Desperate for survival they fought over land, water if there was none…food. The masses became angry and many began to cave to Voldemort’s will, prostrating themselves before him for a scrap of mercy that he would or would not offer.

The Order, the last of the visible rebellion faltered in light of the Veil’s loss. Despair ran rampant in the group that Harry Potter, their last hope was truly lost to them. The fear that he would never return and leave them to their fate was crippling for the oldest of the group. The sentiment was disgusting and left a bitter taste in his mouth. Made-eye Moody, the prejudice asshole was in agreement with him. The Order had grown weak. Even weaker with the inevitable capture of Dumbledore, Remus Lupin and the death of Severus Snape.

The Order had flattered and now it has fallen. Icy blue eyes flickered up to Voldemort as he serenaded the masses with his speech of victory. For all purposes, he had won. The war was over for who was left to fight for a freedom so elusive that it seemed mere myth to the average wizard.

Draco clenched his teeth as the amulet Hermione had given to him pulsed underneath his robe. Warm where it rested over his heart. A sure sign that she still lived. The knowledge did not bring relief, it only brought the weight of great longing and dread that she might never return. Not unless he…

“The rebellion is over!” Voldemort shouted, red eyes alight with glee as Fenrir Greyback pulled a chained Dumbledore to the forefront of the masses. The man was haggard and drawn. Mere skin and bones as his tangled white locks fell around him. Draco felt a lump form in his throat as the man was thrown on his knees yet he still held himself proud. Still stared at all of them with defiance even when bested by the likes of Voldemort. A man he had helped create, Draco thought bitterly. Those aged blue eyes locked with his from a distance and the blonde felt the heavy weight of responsibility settle within his heart.

Do what you must do those eyes spoke to him. No longer twinkling like the days he walked the halls of Hogwarts with a belly full of laughter and arms open wide for the students he cherished. It was Draco’s fault that the man was in this position.  He looked away as Voldemort drowned on about his victory and his faction of Death Eaters rejoiced.

When Severus had been captured he had lost it. He had seen it in Bellatrix’s eyes that the man would not survive to see the night. She had cursed him within an inch of his life and yet the man still fought. A skilled duelist as much as Bellatrix Lestrange was, with just as much intelligence. He was only hindered and finally defeated because he did not quite hold the insanity the woman weald as a weapon. An extension of what defined her putrid magic that had rotted at the core.

He snapped! He completely lost it and broke away from the Order. All he could see was the image of his father dying by Potter’s hand as he fell through the veil. The bright consuming light of the killing curse that would rob his father last breath, terror forever frozen upon his smooth face.

He couldn’t lose another. He couldn’t lose Severus a father figure of sorts like how he had lost his blood father. Like how he had lost his mother who was ravaged by a war that her delicate body could not fight. Like how he had probably lost Hermione through the veil in her vain attempt to save her friend and by extension the wizarding world.

He was never much of the optimistic sort.

He ran blindly, wand blazing with the stray thought that it could never feel like his original wand that was lost the moment he pushed Harry through the veil. He tore down Death Eater after Death Eater that got in his way uncaring of his own safety. A mentality that had left his back open for attack and had seen Dumbledore of all persons throw themselves in the line of fire of a dark consuming curse.

Dark magic had stained the air, burned at his nostrils as he looked back in horror. Dumbledore, the paragon of all that was good, and the seemingly unbeatable wizard that was so often likened to Merlin lay screaming his heart out like never before. Blood bubbling from his lips as whatever dark spell took its hold and drained him of his will to fight. His skin grew terribly pale and blue eyes watched him. Resigned to his fate but glad that he could save a once lost boy who now yearned to save their world as much as he and the rest of the Order did.

The moment was all it took before Severus was cut down, black eyes glassy and wide as life left him. Draco had hollered, tears streaming down his face and his heartbreaking as Tonks he thought it was, Tonks and Mad-eye hauled him away to safety.

“Do what you must do, Draco. You are our last chance. You must find a way to make it possible that Harry Potter returns to us. Help him, young Draco. Help him fulfil his purpose bestowed upon him from birth.” Those were Dumbledore’s pained words as Death Eaters crowed him and Voldemort suddenly appeared in a swirl of endless darkness that snapped at his feet like ravenous snakes.

“I have learnt humility, for I am a merciful god,” Voldemort hissed, hands stretched wide as he addressed his new empire.

“I will grant Albus Dumbledore, your precious symbol of light and honour, a swift death befitting his station. He will not suffer. He will leave behind my legacy and wonders of my victory.” Voldemort crooned. His voice whispery and mocking as his blood red eyes locked with defiant blue.

“Never let it be said that Lord Voldemort is not a gracious and benevolent god,” Voldemort whispered as he stood before the man who had been the bane of his existence the moment he had set foot in Hogwarts halls as boy filled with ambition and vision.

“Will you grant my people a last word? Perhaps that you have fought and lived, a sacrifice for a world that does not exist beyond my vision. Our perhaps that Harry Potter will rise from the dead, though we both know the truth. That it is not that he is dead but more that he can never return.” The Dark Lord tapped his wand against his thin lips pulled into a vicious smirk.

One could see that the man must have been handsome once. Until his own corruption and debauchery twisted him into a creature of nightmares who could never be saved.

“I only regret that it could not have been different. That I could save you from yourself if I had let go of my useless prejudice before it was too late. Now I’ve trapped both you and Young Harry in a cycle that must end one day. That will end. Tom, I am sorry that it had to be this way.” Dumbledore’s voice carried over the masses. Leaving them confused, heart string pulling for here they would lose their last hope at the last whisper of a warm, sincere and comforting voice.

Voldemort sneered at the man who dared to use his cursed muggle name, pointing his wand dead centre between his eyes. He would not allow Dumbledore the chance to escape the killing curse. Even he was not so arrogant to believe that even in this withered state Dumbledore could not pose a threat.

“Pity, I had almost hoped you would wax poetic. Talk about death being the next great adventure like you had always prattled on about. A little flare of dramatics would have been…worthwhile.” Voldemort’s smile was cruel as Bellatrix came to stand behind him a hand resting on her swollen belly. Dumbledore despaired for the innocent child should it ever see the day of light.

“Farewell, you old fool, Ava Kedavra!” The acid green spell shot from Voldemort’s wand and without fanfare Dumbledore’s body crumbled to the floor, a single tear escaping glazed blue eyes that soon grey dull and grey.

“A new age my dear, a new age, for there exist no one who can defeat me now,” Voldemort smirked amused as Bellatrix danced around him, her hands raised to the heavens as she sang his praise. He saw the wicked glee in her eyes, saw the future he would make for himself. His eyes settled on her swollen belly. A future he would make only for himself he frowned, his fingers twitching around his wand.

“Come, Draco, we have little time. They may sooner find us if we do not act now.” It was Mrs Weasely, her eyes filled with unshed tears, her mouth set in a grim line. Behind her what remained of the Order, Kinsley, Tonks, Mad-eye and Professor McGonagall, stood behind her. Determination set in their eyes.

“If the text Hermione left behind speaks the truth, then Gryffindor’s chambers lay somewhere beyond the dungeons,” McGonagall whispered leading the way as they pulled their hoods closer to their faces and navigated through the ruins of Hogwarts. Behind them, they could hear the cheer of Death Eaters and the desperate pleas of the wizarding folk trapped by Voldemort’s will.

“We will establish a containment circle as you seek to complete the ritual. We cannot afford for Voldemort or any other to sense to plumes of Magic that will no doubt arise from this task.”

“Black Magic you mean,” Draco frowned, not flinching when McGonagall serous eyes pinned him in place.

“Gryffindor magic. A magic that only a Gryffindor by blood should dabble in if your pretty little books are right. The same way that you, children—no longer children—took the war into your hands. Flung Harry Potter against his will through a veil with no true assurance that he would find the means to end this war. The things we do to ensure our survival,” McGonagall murmured, her features as fierce as the ever were with what little light from the outside reflected off her rounded glasses.

Draco said nothing at first as they with great stealth navigated through hidden walkways and the air became unbearably cold as they approached the dungeons.

“You blame us for the outcome of the war? Is that it?” Draco’s deep voice was bitter as he pulled his robes closer to ward off the cold. Not even thinking to cast a warming charm lest even that magic be sensed by Voldemort as they sneaked underneath his non-existent nose.

“Don’t be daft, perhaps we all would have done the same boy,” Mad-eye grudgingly admitted saying nothing more as they traversed the dark hallways of the dungeon, not even the torches against the walls set aflame. No true light to guide their way.

“It is as Mad-eye said, Draco Malfoy. We perhaps would have done the same. After all, we have been making decisions for Harry Potter without his say for years, why would his friends, much less you be any different in that mentality.” Draco couldn’t quite tell if it was sarcasm. It could be, or could simply be the truth. McGonagall didn’t move to clear up the issue or assuage the sudden tendril of guilt that slipped inside his heart. He pictured terrified green eyes who thought he would fall to his death when he slipped—was pushed through the veil because of Hermione’s mechanisms more than Voldemort’s need to be rid of the exalted Saviour.

Molly’s sudden gasp and her tight grip on his arm suddenly pulled him from his muse. Even his eyes widened when he took in the sight that stood before him. A large portrait shimmering in gold and red revealed for the first time the true Gryffindor crest.

Unlike what the fables of Hogwarts would like one to believe the crest did not show a muggle lion or a simple Griffin that roared to the heavens. No, it was a sphinx with its head tilted to the sky, weeping glistening rubies with its clawed hands raised in exaltation, and blood red apple settled in its palm. Its wings laid against its back, resembling more scales than feathers with the words Tu Velim Mortem inscribed upon a delicate spine.

“Harry Potter’s inheritance,” Kingsley whispered, feeling strangely fearful as he stared upon the crest. To realize that all they knew of the Gryffindor line was folly.

“Mr Malfoy, I believe this is where we stop and you proceed,” McGonagall stepped aside. Draco gave a stiff nod and with hesitancy approached the portrait. He would have jumped in fright when it suddenly swung open, and the hiss of stale air sounded loud in his ear.

There was something quite foreboding about Godric Gryffindors chambers.

* * *

 Draco’s fingers trembled as he tried to light the partially melted candles black candles arranged in a pentagram so many of their kind ignored. The air was heavy with burning sage and incense. Sparks clicked at the end of his wand but because his hands trembled so much he couldn’t manage to light the flames.

He took a shuddering breath eyes staring up at the only thing that stood out in the barren chamber. It was a portrait of a man. A still silhouette, no true distinguishing features but Draco believed it was a man. Long hair falling over his face and shielding it from sight. The colours were a monochrome grey and proved to create a more eerie vision.

“Merlin!” Draco hissed in frustration, knocking over a candle in his anger at his sudden cowardice. This was simple! Just a little black magic, because anything that involved blood and the souls of the dead could only be black magic!

He might not succeed even! He might fail and he wouldn’t have to worry what may arise from this ritual of—

The amulet Hermione had given snapped from its chain and fell to the floor where he kneeled.

It glowed three colours, pulsing and accusing. Muted red, raging blue… Hermione’s perhaps because of his newfound connection with her glowed the brightest. A beautiful amber. He could see the strict set of her lips and her inquisitive brown eyes. Could see her hunger for knowledge even after their bodies had cooled from that one bittersweet night.

Draco released a shuddering breath. He steadied himself and righted the candle he had knocked down. He removed all thoughts from his mind as he checked the lines of the pentagram he had drawn with powdered talc. With clinical ease, he smoothed out the lines of archaic wizarding runes. So different from the runic script he had seen hidden away in the spines of old Gryffindor tomes that not even Hermione could decipher.

Taking another deep breath he raised his wands and the sparks of fire set the wick alight. One after another he lit the black candles, their sweet-smelling wax already melting and forming hardened puddles upon a smooth finished floor.

The chamber was set alight in warm amber by the glow of candles, shadows flickering from the draught that seemingly took up residence, making the air even chillier than it was.

Draco pulled from his robes what remained of Gryffindor’s essence, swirling the viscous liquid in its vial before pouring it along the lines of the pentagram. Without further ado he used the dagger that lay at his feet to slice through the palms of his hand, barely wincing at the sudden sting and the flow of fresh blood down his arms.

“ _I invoke from the realm of the spirits that which must always be laid to rest. A sleep that must not be disturbed for it is sacred and such an act his blasphemy to our mother who is magic,”_

 _“I invoke from the realm of the spirits that which must always be laid to rest. The spirit of the one known as brave, the one know as brash the one who is and is not.”_  Draco’s hands were clasped as his palms bled. His deep voice carried in the room and as he spoke a wind picked around him and the pentagram glowed a bright purple, pulsing with power.

At its centre, something twisted and bubbled. Grotesque and putrid as a thousand voices seemed to howl along with the haunting song of rabid magical wolves set to prowl the forest of the dead.

 _“I invoke from the realm of the spirit of the dead that which must be laid to rest. The man, known as Godric Gryffindor!”_  Draco snarled. Howls deafening as the flames of the candles suddenly shot up to the roof and the portrait of the unidentified man fell from the wall and shattered as if it were glass.

The air was suddenly heavy. Enough where Draco could hear his forced breath pull through his lungs and leave his slightly parted lips. Cold sweat pricked at his neck and his heart had all but stopped beating, lodging painfully and contracting within his chest.

The flames were suddenly extinguished, black candles completely melted to unrecognizable stubs as something growled and snarled in the pitch darkness that Draco was plunged in. He had a mind to run! He really did. Shivering in his boots as he was, his hands clasped so tight that his pale skin seemed ghost-like.

What sounded like the release of breath from the dragons he had always feared filled the room. Ushering a new level of tenses as his hairs stood on end and he swallowed tightly.

“I—I I—invoke—”

“Invoke?” Draco paled by the sudden consuming voice. It drawled and mocked as shadows flickered in the endless darkness. He couldn’t quite hide the flinch when cold sharp nails dug into his chin and the feel of long silky hair brushed against his face. He could only imagine how wide his eyes must seem in the never-ending darkness. Terrified but steadfast with a bravery he must embody if he hoped to see Hermione—Potter—if he hoped to see Potter return to them and put an end to Voldemort’s madness. Is

“How—vain—how arrogant. Invoke he says,” The voice hissed, and Draco flinched from the icy breath that gripped him in a never-ending fear.

“You wouldn’t have come if you found me unworthy!” Draco glared, desperately grasping at his resolve. He must do this, he must garner the spirits help.

“Yet, unworthy you are! Why did you summon me, Draco Malfoy?” Draco wished he could see the spirit’s face. To see who stood before him. Stare into eyes and see what being he truly dealt with. He could imagine that Harry Potter would not feel this fear. He would stare death into its eyes and laugh at it.

“Harry Potter of Gryffindor blood,  _your_  blood, your legacy. Is  _he_  not worthy?” Draco glared. Defiance set on his shoulders as he regained his bearings. He would not falter! He could not falter for it is here that his will would be tested! His failure or success would mark the fate of their world—what little was left of it.

There was tense silence and for a moment Draco thought that perhaps he had miscalculated. That by opening his mouth he had doomed both sides of the veil.

“Why did you summon me, Draco Malfoy?” The spirts voice rumbled, heavy with the lingering threat that should it be deceived the last of the Malfoy line would surely meet its destruction within this barren dark chamber.

“The house of Gryffindor spoke of a prophecy many ages ago. It spoke of a one who would mock their legacy,  _your_ legacy…and the heir who would find the power to defeat him!”

“He has returned to the land where the Gryffindor line was conceived. He will embrace his legacy, but how shall he return to complete his given duty if the gateway proves impassible?! The veil is no more. Godric Gryffindor I beseech you! Bring your heir back! Help him fulfil the prophecy he was born to fulfil!”

“For if the heir dies, if he fails, who is there to continue the legacy of the Gryffindor? Who is there to prevent the destruction of such a revered bloodline?!” Draco’s words were passionate, angry. Full of so much and hope and fear as those sharp nails dug further into his skin. Threatening to tear the flesh from his chin! The hiss of an angry cold breath set his heart racing!

Had he ultimately failed to convince the spectre of Godric Gryffindor to—!

Thunder rumbled ominously, echoing in the barren chamber as suddenly black candles were set aflame. Exploding in a bright blinding light! Draco cried out in fear tumbling on his back!

He could feel the slick of blood that dripped down his chin and the chill that set in his bones as he lay face up, blue eyes wide open in deep-seated fear. His heart pounded and the dried blood in his palm was stiff and restricting.

“I—I invoke from the r—realm of the spirits that must always be l—laid to rest. That which is evil, that which is good…that which will ring the bell of destiny and bring victory within our midst.” Draco whispered, his voice cracking as the pentagram turned to an undecipherable dust, blow away by a sudden chilly wind.

_Tu Velim Mortem_

Voices whispered. They hissed and snapped in the air, growing louder, filled with hate, filled with anger. Vile spirits of the Gryffindor line that mocked him. Draco’s heart froze when the very portrait that had seemingly shattered like glass sat proudly on the wall.

The man that had no colour and his face... obscured no more. Instead, a fierce, proud man with harsh features, flowing crimson hair and wicked blood red eyes stared back at him. A smirk seemingly cruel and mocking gracing his lips.

 _Tu Velim Mortem. Destiny waits for no man, and so man must be brought to destiny. Willing or unwilling._  A deep gravelly voice echoed through Draco’s mind. A promise that the time drew near.

Harry Potter would return to the wizarding world and with him the power to defeat the Dark Lord. With him Hermione.

* * *

 Ron’s throat felt terribly tight as he gripped his abdomen, pain lacing through the tender flesh for every step he took forward. Harry silently walked ahead of him gaze trained ahead. His mouth was set in that grim line it had always been in. It seemed that after his capture for months on end he had forgotten that Harry, his best friend rarely, if ever, smiled.

He was most times serious, brows furrowed as he faced conflicting thoughts on his own. Unwilling to let him or Hermione help. It’s why…it’s why they did what they did in secret. The trances Harry fell in, the words Tu Velim Mortem echoing from his lips, was a frightening sight.

Harry would seemingly disseminate forces without so much as a thought of morality, a smile upon his red bruised lips. He would crumble into himself with the weight of guilt when he would awaken from said trance and see what he had done.

What destruction he wrought upon his enemies, for Harry, the bleeding golden heart, felt for everything and everyone. A fault of his character many would say. Too self-sacrificing hardly selfish.

Harry had asked how he had gotten to the Elemental Nations, already knowing the truth. Ron for when had he ever been able to keep everything from Harry spilt all that he, Hermione and…Draco Malfoy had done. He told him about what they had found. That his trances were linked to the Elemental Nations, a call from the power they knew not. It was telling Harry to return and claim it, to fulfil the prophecy that slated Harry the hero who would deliver the Wizarding world. Told him that he knew he was here in the elemental nations because he had  _felt_  him.

Gryffindor essence that still ran rampant within him, tearing him apart at the seams for he was unworthy, had forged a connection to Harry that many couldn’t fathom. With enough focus, he could tell at any given time where Harry was. Could feel the echoes of his surface emotions. Could feel the sweet nurturing thrum of the wizard’s magic.

 _“Why? Why do this behind my back. I’m not… I don’t think I have the strength this very moment to be angry. Not yet… but I know I will be. But why, Ron? Why go behind my back?”_  Harry has sounded so betrayed, conflicted. Some vindictive part of him shouted at Harry in his mind that this was how he felt! This was how he felt seeing Harry so close to the traitor Uchiha who had hunted them. The one that stopped their escape and dragged them kicking and screaming back to the snake got, Orochimaru.

The same snake git they were returning to!

Betrayed.

Ron winced again, feeling the wet beads of blood that seeped into his bandages yet again. Harry glanced his way for a moment, green eyes concerned before their gazes locked. The bitter taste of guilt painted the insides of their mouths and angrily they looked away from each other.

_“Maybe the question we should be asking is why you’re cosying up to this fucking monster when you know what he did! Know what he does! He murdered hundreds, Harry! That’s what they all say! Everyone can’t be wrong about him!”_

Harry hadn’t accused him of betrayal, but the look in his eyes that night. Ron felt insulted, angry, terribly sad because damn it, he did all of this for Harry! He pushed him through the veil so that he could find that damn power to defeat Voldemort! So he wouldn’t suffer from the trances that left his heart hallow and his spirt so weakened!

To spear him from the pain that his own mind would cause as he killed himself with unfounded guilt! His best friend that he loved with all his heart! He did it for him! Yet, he would look at him with those jewel green eyes as if he were just like the wizarding world who only saw a tool. Saw salvation at the cost of the wizard’s own humanity.

 _“He hasn’t, Ron! His hands are stained with blood, but not that of the innocent. And even knowing that it doesn’t absolve him of his sins. Just as my own morality does not absolve me of mine! The hundreds that I killed with a spell that I can’t even understand!”_ Ron had scoffed at that revelation. He didn’t believe it one bit, and if Harry wanted to be lost in delusions then fine! If he wanted to fool himself to believe he understood the man then so be it.

Harry had always been childish! It was himself and Hermione that kept him out of trouble most of the times! At least, that’s what he had always thought.

To be honest, even he knew that was arrogance talking. For unlike what Hermione thought, unlike what he had thought, out of the three of them, it was Harry who proved more mature.

It was Harry who often thought with his mind, rather than his heart, even if it hurt him.

What came next he wasn’t proud of.

_“We’re not here to talk about monsters, Ron. You don’t like Sasuke, that’s fine. I don’t care about that. Right now I don’t even care about what you or Hermione did or Draco Malfoy even! You wanted me to find the power I needed, I know now that have no choice but to find the power I need. I also know that the best bet for any of this to be successful is for Sasuke to help us!”_

Harry had been so serious. Fierce as plot after plot ran through his mind. Ron could see that much. Seeing Harry in his element. Calculating every step, searching for the perfect strategy. A far cry from the angry, brash young teen. A far cry from immature like he had accused. Yet, like the buffoon, he was let his anger get in the way. He let his mouth fly and—

_“And when did you figure that out? Before or after you spread your legs for him?”_

He couldn’t take it back as desperately as he wanted to! He watched all the emotion bleed from Harry’s face. Stone cold, almost too alike in resemblance to the Uchiha that Ron had found himself flinching at the sight.

 _“I don’t know. Maybe it was before, maybe it was after. I wouldn’t know you see. Too busy riding the soul out of his big thick knob.”_  Harry spat, brushing past him to get inside.

He had tried to apologize. Stammering over his words and feeling like utter shit, because why the hell would he have said something like that!

 _“Don’t, Ron. Just, don’t. After all, whores don’t deserve apologies don’t you agree?”_ Harry had sounded so bitter and Ron, he couldn’t fault him. They hadn’t spoken much after that. He had kept silent, listened as Harry spoke in hushed words to the Uchiha. Watched as said man looked at him with disdain.

He had refused to be left behind when they ventured to Orochimaru. He wanted to be there when they retrieved Hermione and all the snake man knew about Gryffindor temple.

The Uchiha had vehemently shot down the idea and Harry, the firecracker that he was, did not back down for a compromise. Ron would travel with them, they would leave him at the village close to Orochimaru’s hideout. He would wait there as they retrieved Hermione.

He didn’t like it one bit, but even he knew he would be more a burden than anything else with a wound like the one he had. No thanks to the bastard Uchiha!

“H—Harry, I’m sorry. You know I wouldn’t ever—I didn’t mean it? You’re not a—” He spoke in English, Sasuke casting them an unreadable look before ignoring them both, his hand gripped around the handle of his sword.

“You think I betrayed you and Hermione so you tried to hurt me. There is nothing else to it. Nothing in the grand scheme of things because my duty is all that matters,” Ron didn’t know if Harry was being his sarcastic self or if…

He blew out a frustrated breath, calming him rising temper.

“You know damn well that I don’t think that! If we could I would say to hell with duty. Merlin’s saggy left tits, why do you have to be so—so—so bloody stubborn?” Ron hissed, cursing himself for letting his temper get the best of him yet again.

“Excuse me, I have to see how far we are,” Harry was as cold as ever. Quickening his steps to fall into step with the Uchiha. Ron hated how close they were. How the tips of Harry’s fingers delicately brushed against the Uchiha’s hand. He found it sickening how the Uchiha would slightly tilt his head to stare directly into Harry’s eyes as he spoke. The shadow of something warm in his dark eyes for how unemotional he seemed to the world.

Ron’s eyes widened when for the first time the tiniest of smiles graced Harry’s lips. He seemed so light and carefree for but a second as the Uchiha muttered something under his breath and his own hand brushed against Harry’s.

Harry soon walked ahead of Sasuke, hands tucked into his wide sleeves and the entire time those dark eyes did not stray from Harry’s form.

Silence consumed all three as the wind blew heavy overhead. Trees loud in their chorus as they flicked tiny droplets of water left over from the night dew upon their skins. The droplets were in turn cooled by the chilly air, even though the sun peeked teasingly from the tall mountainside in the distance.

Ron would say it was beautiful, this entire setting if it were not for their circumstances. His thought wandered to the wizarding world. His brothers and father…his weeping mother who loved him so much. So lost in thought he was he did not realize that he had fallen in step with Sasuke.

“Thinking about joining a dancing caravan, Baby Doll? I heard the wind Daimyo is hiring.” Ron flinched at the deep voice looking quickly to his side to see Sasuke and that infuriating arrogant smirk. He glared at the man, not that the Uchiha paid him no mind. He was too focused on Harry who had stopped in his tracks, arms spread wide as drops of water caressed his pale skin. He did a weird little twirl out of spite giving Sasuke an unamused stare before proceeding to walk again.

“You should stay away from him!” Ron could only hope the translating spell Hermione had created was still in full effect. He didn’t want any misunderstandings between himself and the Uchiha!

Sasuke slowly looked his way, expression void of emotion. Then there was the condescending rise of that eyebrow. Ron could feel his rage bubbling inside.

“He doesn’t need someone like you confusing him or taking advantage. I mean it, stay the hell away from him! Don’t even look his way, you sick piece of shit!” They had both stopped walking. Facing off as Harry continued to walk ahead, head tilted to the sky. Taking in the peacefulness of the morning, oblivious to the situation behind him.

“How amusing, the insignificant dog thinks he has a voice. Better yet, thinks he will bark and I will quiver in fear.” Ron turned a violent shade of rent, puffing up as Sasuke’s smirk grew wider. Mockery in perfectly formed lips, amused by the red-head creature’s audacity.

“Why you—” Ron began angrily, his voice scaring the birds overhead. Or was it something else?! Suddenly Sasuke grabbed the hilt of his sword, dark eyes already searching for the enemy. Ron stumbled beside him, breaking out in cold sweat as he desperately searched for whatever that left him feeling so much dread!

Simultaneously their eyes flickered to Harry who stood stiffly. Ron felt his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach when he truly took in Harry. The wizard stood as if he was petrified by the basilisk that used to like in the Chamber of Secrets.

His green eyes were wide open, unshed tears brimming at the corners of his eyes but would not flow. Could not flow!

Suddenly the wind picked up, thrashing about as it forced the trees to bend their spines in submission, angry clouds rolling from over the mountains with sparks of lightning that lashed out at all in its path.

They shielded their eyes from the spiralling dust that, Harry obscured from their sight for just a second. It only took a second!

A soul crippling scream tore through the air. Gurgling and filled with torturous pain.

 _“Tu Velim Mortem”_  the sudden whisper had Ron freezing in fear. His limbs shaking as the voice turned to a thousand chants.

Tu Velim Mortem over and over. Pealing at his skin as that terribly scream continued that—

That was Harry!

Harry was the one screaming his throat out as the chants grew to deafening levels. Sasuke was already moving, blade drawn, as he cut through the dust that blocked them.

Already moving while he stood there paralyzed by his own fear, Harry suffering some unknown attack!

He watched Harry surrounded by a ring of fire, a pentagram swirling under his feet. The flickering image of a tall imposing man hovering over Harry’s form. A sceptre with flowing red hair, long pointed nail digging into the wizard’s forehead, a trail of blood staining his skin, dripping off his chin.

He could hear the Uchiha calling Harry’s name. Desperately trying to extinguish the flames to get to Harry, whose eyes had rolled over by now. Face frozen in an unimaginable horror.

It didn’t seem that Sasuke saw the sight before them all. The ninja didn’t see the sceptre that smiled so cruel. Didn’t see that cruel smile form words and whisper into Harry’s ear as he held the wizard like a precious child.

“My heir, to you I bestow knowledge, beseeched by the man with snow white hair. Summoned to help you complete your duty. The power you know not is in Gryffindor temple. The knowledge you do not have seared into your mind by my gracious mercy. Tell me, Harry Potter last of the Gryffindor line, what is the meaning of Tu Velim Mortem?”

“Harry!” Sasuke’s desperate roar shattered the moment. The pentagram was gone, the sceptre vanishing upon the wind and the fires extinguished, leaving scorched soil and ashes in its wake.

Sasuke caught Harry before he could slump to the floor, cradling his face with one hand as he desperately searched seemingly blank eyes. It was enough for Ron to snap out of his stupor, jogging over to the two, kneeling beside his brother in all but blood.

“H—Harry!” He desperately called, worried when Harry blankly stared at him, lips moving but no words leaving his lips. Tears had finally escaped their confines sliding down soft cheeks.

“Tu Velim Mortem. What is that?” Ron flinched at the butchered language, staring up at Sasuke who searched for the answer in his eyes.

“Something from our world, something I’ve only seen bring him pain. For it to reach him here—”

“It’s the mark of a destiny carved out for me since birth.” They both flinched at the sudden voice, looking down to see Harry with clear focused eyes. He struggled to get up but Sasuke held him tight.

“Sasuke, I-I’m fine,” Harry whispered, frowning when the man refused to let him go. He was about to give the Uchiha a piece of his mind when his vision clouded over for a second.

“Are you sure about that?” Sasuke scoffed and with little effort lifted Harry in his arms, ignoring the wizards protest.

“Harry! I just witnessed you being attacked by some spirit. Watched your eyes roll into the back of your head and you screaming murder! Stay put!” Sasuke glared finding no satisfaction when green eyes widened at the obvious show of emotion. The wizard frowned but grudgingly did as he was told, resting his head against Sasuke’s chest. Before he knew it he was pulled in an exhausted sleep, soft breath escaping his lips.

“Y—you saw it?!” Ron stuttered, rising from the ground as Sasuke began to walk away without a care.

The man looked over his shoulder, eyes cold as he took in the shaking form of Ron.

“Are you coming, or haven’t you had enough of being useless?” Sasuke sneered uncaring if he had offended the man. He had just stood there when Harry had been under attack! He dared called himself Harry’s brother, how pathetic!

* * *

 

Harry sighed, ignoring the loud chirps of crickets as he looked out from their rented room. He sat, legs folded beneath him, the gently pulling at raven dark looks as villagers ambled bellow wide smiles and excited chatter. Night had fallen, but the market was as alive as ever. Brightly coloured paper lanterns of reds and orange. Men with their belly full of laughter and the local merchants bellowing the best price to capture sales.

“Get your dried fish here! Your dried fish!”

“Teas from the Tea country! Perfect brews, get it while it’s hot!”

Harry was thankful for the normalcy of it. It was easy to lose himself and forgot about what had happened earlier in the day. He had been visited by Godric Gryffindor.

Godric Bloody Gryffindor. His ancestor. The man had forced upon ages of knowledge. He watched history flashed before his eyes in nothing but a second. He received Draco Malfoy’s message.

The veil, the very veil that they should return trough had been destroyed by the hands of Voldemort. For a moment panic gripped his heart until the Godric’s cruel croon echoed in his mind.

_If the veil is broken, then make another one. I’ll give you the knowledge and experience. False it may be for it won’t be your own hard work, but in time, it could be. It will be._

“It’s ready,” Harry sighed again before looking over his shoulder. Sasuke was leaned against the ajar bathroom door. Golden light illuminating his features as he folded his hands over his chest. He looked so serious, mouth set in a frown, hair damp and still dripping with a towel lying low on his hips.

“I told you, I’m fine,” Harry sighed in frustration when Sasuke just continued to stare him down. He could have disputed the Uchiha’s silent argument if his legs didn’t shake when he stood.

Sasuke didn’t move to help him. The man knew that was just asking for trouble from Harry was too stubborn for his own good. He body ached, legs trembled and every step he took it would seem he was ready to keel over.

Having one’s mind forcefully ripped open by a dead ancestor would do that to you. It seemed Sasuke had had enough when he scooped Harry up ignoring Harry’s venomous curses as he pushed the bathroom doors wider with his foot.

Harry found himself gently placed in a tub of hot steaming water, his robe removed. Not hot enough that it burned, but just enough that he could instantly feel the aches leave his body. He couldn’t help the groan that left his lips, eyes squinting open to realize that an empty bottle of disinfectant lay on its sides to the corner of the bath. That along with a sponge and scrubber that seemed to have been brand new but was greatly abused.

He raised a curious brow at the man and he must have been even more exhausted than he realized because he was sure he saw the slightest of flush across Sasuke’s cheeks for a second.

“It was clean, but it was disgusting. I wasn’t about to get into it, much less place you inside of it without it being cleaned to my satisfaction.” Sasuke had no shame and Harry honestly couldn’t help the snort that escaped him.

Before he could even think, Sasuke was slipping into the tub behind him, his towel discarded on the floor.

Harry’s heart skipped a beat, his chest feeling unimaginably tensing as he felt Sasuke’s skin against his own. He shivered at the contact, breath shallow when Sasuke without shame wrapped him up in his arms. Harry swallowed when those muscled arms held him so tight, so safe and Sasuke’s warm breath caressed the back of his neck.

He chanced a glance below where their legs overlapped. He didn’t even realize he was doing it. The fact that his own fingers laced with Sasuke’s or that he fully allowed himself to slump in the man’s arms.

He didn’t even care about the obvious length he felt pressed up against him. Not aroused, or not more so than usual at any rate. He was warm, soothed by the water, soothed by the natural heat that seeped from Sasuke’s body into his.

He shifted ever so slightly, water sloshing around their intertwined legs and over muscled thighs.

This, this was nice.

“The sceptre, he was my ancestor.  A shocking reminder of my lot in life, of what is expected of me. I have all this knowledge spinning around my head and not a clue how to use it. A terrible headache for the overload and yet all I can think about…”

Harry trailed off, eyes trained on the rocky cliffs in the distance.  Orochimaru’s hide out in plain sight with no one the wiser. They were so close! A few minutes and they would be in the heart of the snake. He could almost make out a dirt road, and suddenly he remembered that he wasn’t wearing glasses.  

How had his sight become perfect so mysteriously?

“All I can think about is what freedom would feel like? What if I didn’t have responsibilities and I could stay here with…” Harry peered through full dewy lashes heart skipping yet another beat when Sasuke silently looked down at him. Deep black eyes mesmerizing.

He reached up almost hesitant before he lay a palm flat against Sasuke’s strong jaw, caressing the skin there. Mesmerized by the subtle bob of Sasuke’s throat.

“Why? Why are you like this, Sasuke? Why are we like this when we have more important things to focus on?” Harry whispered, a shuddering breath leaving him when that strong hand curled around his own.

“It’s like I said, Baby Doll, I care for you,” There was a strange thrumming in Harry’s chest when that deep baritone sang sweet nothings in his ear. Lost in their own little world. Ignoring the sound of soft footsteps that lingered in their room.

“I think…I think I care for you too, but it won’t ever be.” Harry’s eyes fluttered as they moved impossibly close. He could feel every breath Sasuke took against his lip and knew the man felt the same. He leaned forward, their lips teasing. Skin barely touching skin for a moment.

“At least, it shouldn’t be,” Harry whispered. The water was lukewarm now, even as he was pressed so close the Sasuke, his hands trailing up his chest to his neck.

They didn’t hesitate.

Soft lips against soft lips. Chaste almost at first as heavy sighs escaped their lips and their fingers idly played along each other’s skin.

Sasuke tightened his arm around Harry’s waist, his other hand trailing up Harry’s spine, gripping the base of his hair as he deepened the kiss.

Was this nirvana?

Neither of the two was aware of the redhead who watched them with conflicted eyes. Nor did they see when he silently walked away. No, Sasuke knew, but simply he did not care

For the very first time locked in a lover’s embrace, fluttering eyes and racing hearts.

Breathless.

Drunk off the other.


	17. And where our paths converge and diverge

“At first glance, I would call you pathetic.”

“A stain on my legacy. A disappointment in your existence as you stand there with your hand metaphorically tied behind your hands. Weak.” His voice echoed through the mist that clouded Harry’s mind. Whispery yet deep. A resounding sound that gripped his soul and refused to let go.

Harry said nothing, hands held tightly at his side even as he was tempted to ward off the cold that was his mindscape. The mist spun around him, twisting like some ghost of old as the whispers of the dead crooned in his ear. He was—nervous to say the least. The fear that here, after so many years he may hear the whispers of his dead mother again.

Hear her desperate cries as she tried to save him from the Dark Lord Voldemort who fancied himself a god. How she pleaded, take me instead! Spare him, take me instead!—as he a confused child wailed for the terror alone in her sweet voice. Somewhere in the distant part of his mind, he thought he could hear his father over the chorus of ancestors he knew nothing about and that alone increased his fear.

His heart thundered in his chest. He even thought that perhaps if he wasn’t so cold, teeth chattering and lips slowly turning blue, he would have been covered in nervous sweat that would slick his skin and leave him terribly hot.

“You are weak, as you are unworthy,” Harry didn’t even flinch when the hot breath caressed his ear, or at the looming body that stood close behind him, pointed nails digging into his shoulders.

He had been pulled into his mind the moment his head had touched the pillow of his futon in the room Sasuke had secured for them. They would rest for an hour or three the most before making the last journey to Orochimaru where Hermione remained captured. Where he could find so many answers hidden within piles of Orochimaru’s collection that would ultimately lead him home.

He couldn’t even protest as he listened to the white noise of Sasuke sharpening his blade fading to the background and Ron’s low muttering from the connecting room. He had breathed one last breath in the physical world and woke gasping in the cold confines of his mind.

Godric remained unseen for the entirety of his arrival, whispering harshly in thickening mist. Mocking and cruel as he flittered round him unseen, trying to get a rise out of his supposed heir. The last living embodiment of the Gryffindor line and all that it was.

A disappointing embodiment he would hiss for the longer Harry kept his silence and suffered a chill that would sooner leave him numb.

Those long nails dug into his shoulders and threatened to pierce his skin, but through it all Harry did not flinch. He kept his gaze steadfast before him as he listened to inevitable whimpers of his mother’s last moments. As her screams echoed in his heart and his eyes burned for he would not cry at a memory he knew he could never escape.

He bit his lips, a shuddering breath escaping him only to fog over before his sight. The mist cleared slightly. Only slightly, but enough where he could see the beginnings of familiar golden chains. As familiar as the ones he had seen in Sasuke's mind that had wrapped so tightly around a Ryobu Torri and pulsed with powerful magic beyond him and beyond any wizard any artefact that could ever exist in the wizarding world.

“Isn’t that magnificent.  A true match bond. Verum Par, two souls, though not soulmates, for no such thing exist, that are so compatible that their magic twines and shifts around the other. Creating this unexplainable want and need to be close to this one person. Strange that one from the wizarding world would be so connected to one within the Elemental Nations. One without magic, at least as you know it.” Godric chummed finally moving to stand beside Harry.

The man didn’t seem so cruel, didn’t seem much of anything really emotionless blood red eyes trained on the peculiar golden chains that twisted around each other and extended to reaches neither could see. Harry wagered it extended to Sasuke’s mind along the bridge that had connected them and then further into places of the Uchiha’s mind that he hadn’t dared to trespass.

“As I know it?” Harry frowned, green eyes boring into the Godric, not that the man was bothered by the attention. Godric tucked a long strand of hair behind his ear before glancing Harry’s way, that cruel smirk back in place, and blood red eyes wild and consuming.

Harry wondered how the wizarding world could have ever thought Godric Gryffindor was the paragon of all that was good while they vilified Salazar Slytherin. He was never one to judge quickly, but it was quite obvious that claiming Godric Gryffindor strictly light, would have been folly.

“It’s like I said, unworthy. You know nothing of this family and the power it possesses, the power you should know inherently and take advantage of. You are no Gryffindor and that pointy face ferret with the white hair was terribly wrong if he saw you as worthy.” Godric sneered, a look of distaste clear in his red eyes.

Harry could care less what the man thought of him. Dismissing the spectre as easily as he done anyone else who would dare to bring him down. He had seen too much to make simple words break his spirit. Especially words from a long-dead stranger as much as they were to be family.

In a sense after so long in the Elemental Nations, captured, acting the weak fool, for that moment he felt completely himself.

“Yet here you still are, Godric. Forcing upon me knowledge upon knowledge and granting me gifts for how unworthy I am,” Harry sneered.

Godric smiled in amusement. Enjoying Harry’s obviously cantankerous tone as much as the man would try to act calm and collected. A spitfire with a bad attitude when it suited him. He could see what the charm that pulled in Uchiha in like a moth to a flame above everything.

He could understand why these souls would be connected with the golden chains of Verum par that had brought them together. Caused them to act in ways they normally wouldn’t because inadvertently they had begun to lower their walls the moment they met. Whether as enemies or something else. It would explain why Harry seemed so—

“Weak. It’s the first thing I thought when I finally met you, Harry Potter, the only legitimate heir left to my bloodline. I tore through your memories and sneered when I saw how easily you were captured by the Uchiha, you easily you dismissed your magic even if you were without a wand,” Godric frowned as he stared at the golden chains. Watching as they pulsed for every word he uttered and as more and more of the mist cleared to reveal beautiful sweeping willows and Japanese maple a startling deep red.

Red like the Uchiha symbol and the swirling Dojutsu know as the Sharingan.

“And now? You still think me weak? Not that I much care beyond wanting to know why you now hold me prisoner in my own mind.” Harry’s lips were set in a grim line, that previous anxiety setting in again. He could feel the unsettled shift of his magic under his skin. Feel how it ached to be free but unable to because he had no true training in wandless magic.

Random, lucky, outburst like the time he had attacked Sasuke and when he had apparated multiple times were exceptions to that situation.

“You didn’t fight as hard as you could when you were captured. What I saw was not the Harry Potter that had fought in a continuous war. What I saw was a child. I wonder why?”

Harry said nothing, choosing to remain silent as he glared at his ancestor. A handsome man he would admit. With a strong jaw and flowing red hair. Tall impossibly tall that Harry had to tilt his head ever so slightly to keep eye contact.

A man that loved to play mind games when so much was happening at present. When so much was at stake. Godric Gryffindor did not and perhaps would never care.

He was dead, Harry guesses he could understand and appreciate the detachment. Then again, he didn’t much appreciate being held captive in his own mind as reality passed him by.

That he knew was fact. Even standing there glaring at Godric with a cold wind blowing through their hair and caressing their soft skin, in reality, his body moved without him.

Responded to questions asked as he and Sasuke made their way to Orochimaru at the very moment.

“Is it the bond I wonder? The one you must know you can never fulfil. There is no room for love where you are going, Harry Potter. No room for love where the Uchiha must go at that,” Godric almost sounded apologetic. Eyes shadowed in just the right way, teeth delicately biting into lips that too much resembled Harry’s own. If not for that lingering smirk, Harry would almost be fooled to think Godric cared.

“Why am I here, Godric?! You’ve given me knowledge that bombards me even in my waking moments. I suddenly know how to draw a rune that could tear continents apart—” Harry shouted, the very rune he spoke materializing before both of them in golden scrawl. Floating above Harry’s palm.

“I know of runes of life and rune of death! Runes of forbidden arts and black magic that would taint my soul if I dear use it. I know how to create another veil without ever studying the art of it! I know that in Gryffindor temple there is some rune that not even you would utter or teach me how to use. One that I’m sure will be all I need to win this war I’m forced to play part in!”

“Why am I here, Gryffindor? What else is there for you to tell me?” Harry all but snarled.

“Wandless magic, dear Harry. Or have you forgotten that even with the knowledge I have given you, if you have no focus to bend your own magic to your will and use it without a conduit, all I have given you will be for nought. The runes you now have knowledge of will need much more than the little magic you can expel to carve those less than stellar runes of the Wizarding world.” Godric smiled a cruel smile when Harry came up short, green eyes widening in shock at his own oversite. Shame setting in not that he would let it obviously show.

“Weak in the face of selfish love. The Uchiha is truly a distraction that has toppled you from grace. How…quaint,” There was obvious distaste in Godric’s tone. Harry swallowed tightly, glaring at his feet before looking away entirely to watch the swaying Japanese maple.

“Does it even matter? At the end of the day, we’ll be separated before we could ever hope to truly understand the feelings between us. That, and as much as I loathe to admit it, there are more important things occurring in our lives to even consider a long-term—” Harry was bitter he would admit that much. He had thought—maybe just for a moment that things could be easy for them—for him.

Nothing was ever easy when an entire world relied on you. He forcibly removed the imposing thoughts of how right it felt being in Sasuke’s arms as they lay together in the bath. Limbs intertwined, his cheek resting on Sasuke’s firm chest. He felt so safe and detached from the world then. Even knowing that Ron was but a room away and Hermione was up on that hill probably going through hell as he indulged himself.

He felt the lowest of low at that moment and to think he had ever implied or thought Ron and rest of the world were selfish. He wasn’t any better was he?

“I’ll teach you something no one ever thought to teach me when I first entered the Wizarding world. Love…it leads you astray. It only ever hurts and if you’re not strong enough to deal with that hurt, then its best you leave love where it belongs.” Godric’s smile was bitter, identical to Harry’s. In that moment they looked so much alike even with their difference in colouring. All but twins in their disposition.

“Spoken like a true man with experience,” Harry muttered, stepping forward o caress the bark of a willow tree that had slowly materialized in front of him. He carefully ignored the fact that further up the bark, the symbol of the Uchiha Clan stood proudly.

Godric only smiled a strange smile, remembering sweet gasping breaths and moans that escaped his lover’s lips. Sweet tan skin and deep raven black hair that fell around him. Startling amethyst eyes and the sweet sound of the snake tongue hissed into his ear.

“Wandless magic should come to you as easily as breathing does. What prevents you from truly accessing your magic is your own mental block and archaic traditions of the Wizarding world that relies too much on the conduit known as a wand.”  At that Godric stepped forward so that he himself could touch the bark of the willow tree, a pulse of magic escaping his palm to seep into the tree.

Harry watched as the willow seemingly came alive, not unlike the weeping willow that once stood on Hogwarts ground. The tree trashed and swayed its limbs as if agitated, the bark shaking as if outraged that these wizards would dear to touch it without asking.

“The Gryffindor’s originated from this very world, Harry. The Elemental Nations, though back then there were not Elemental Nations. Just land and a vast array of magic that flourished as much as Mother Nature did.” Harry looked up at the man as he spoke. That knowledge was old news, he had garnered this much from Ron as the redhead had desperately explained how he and Hermione had come to be in the Elemental Nation.

The knowledge was further reinforced as Godric had torn through his mind at his first appearance, Harry wailing in deep bone pain as he was bombarded with too much at once.

He knew that the Gryffindor’s were known as spiritual mages blessed with magic in place of chakra from a god or one of two spiritual sages depending on who told the story. They lived in sacred temples scattered along the land as they worshipped Mother magic along with Mother Nature paying no heed to the outside world that slowly changed around them.

Changed without them ever noticing it until it was much too late.

The Sage or some god grew tired of the Gryffindor’s disregard. Grew bitter with the knowledge that the children they bestowed such powerful gifts, would so easily push them aside to worship Mother Nature the goddess of creation and magic itself that magic had become a deity herself. A sister to Mother Nature.

Instead of wrath, they set their eyes on another project and so more children were sought and given the knowledge the gift of chakra that ran wild in the lands. With the rise of Chakra magic began to die. It could not survive under the might of chakra for among the two, magic proved weaker.

Many Gryffindor’s lost their faith in mother magic, and with the loss of belief, the deity of magic, Mother Magic lost all power.

Chakra user’s thrived and the Sage was pleased. Watching as they flourished to form clans and forge a path for themselves.  Uchihas, Senjus, Hyuugas, Uzumakis and so much more; the Elemental Nations were born and the Gryffindor Sages slowly but surely began to die. The few that remained used their creations of powerful runes to build a veil, hearing whispers from Mother Nature of a world that another magic thrived.

A world they could belong, and not compete with the might of Chakra.

What little was left of the Gryffindor’s, a young Godric himself and his mother and dearest brother and his wife crossed over to the Wizarding world, and soon they established themselves. They helped build and tame the wild magic of that land, integrated themselves with the people and after a while their line became one revered along three more.

They became the Gryffindor’s of the Wizarding world, rather than the Gryffindor spiritual mages of the Elemental Nations.

All was well until whispers of prophecies came into to play and Harry Potter was left with a terrible burden on his shoulders.

“It is because of Mother Nature that the Gryffindor survived, and it is with Mother Nature that you will find balance and access your magic within, without a wand. Balance Harry, balance and focus, that’s all you need. Forget everything else, forget…everyone else,” Godric smiled though a bit sad. It was the first genuine one Harry had seen for the short time he had come to know the spectre. It didn’t last long as it quickly faded out of existence and Godric stood before him emotionlessly, hand removed from the bark of the willow that had suddenly stilled.

“Become one with nature, who would have thought,” Harry snarked. It sounded ridiculous honestly speaking. If it was that easy then why didn’t so many wizards practice wandless magic? Why didn’t—but then, those wizards weren’t from the Elemental Nations, neither did they worship Mother Nature and Magic and apparently have some strange connection with her.

“Balance, Harry. Balance, you better act fast, you’ve almost arrived,” Godric smirked, from vanishing with the next whisper of wind, leaving Harry alone in the expanse of his mind.

Act fast? Harry almost cursed as he realised what the spectre meant. His physical body had almost arrived at Orochimaru’s hideout. If he listened closely he could hear Sasuke’s deep baritone whispering to him. Briefing him on the plans he would set in motion. Explaining to him how they would save Hermione and secure what Harry needed.

He could hear his physical self, asking Sasuke if this was all worth it. If this move was the right one for him to make. One that was separate from Harry’s ambitions and spoke for his own.

The Uchiha did not answer until he finally did. He revealed he had learned all he could from Orochimaru.

“Balance,” Harry whispered opting to sit cross-legged before the sweeping willow before slowly closing his eyes.

“Balance,” He whispered the soft murmur of wind almost too loud as he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly but surely finding peace. He felt the warm pulse of the magic in his heart. He slowly felt the rush of something new, Nature in his blood. The song of the golden chains that linked him to Sasuke suddenly became loud and his heart raced for how true his feelings were.

Images flashed before his eyes. The wizarding world, his friends. Hermione smiling with a book on her lap and Ron sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck for saying something utterly ridiculous. He saw mountain ranges pass him by in the perspective of an owl, he flapped his wings and soared ever so high. He saw Remus howling at the moon, a sly smile on his lips and Dumbledore with his twinkling eyes, robes a vivid blue with sparkling stars of puke yellow.

“Balance,” like a desperate prayer that fell from his lips and the tension in his shoulders lifted for the moment and the weight of responsibility felt as heavy as a single whispery feather.

He saw the break of dawn and of the set of sunset. Quick images that repeated over and over as the sky bled orange then to blue then to a deep consuming darkness for which no colour or shade could describe. His soul trembled and his heart seized as the chorus of songs grew loud in his ear and the whispers of the dead were drowned by the presence of new life.

What is the meaning if Tu velim mortem?

What is the meaning of anything?

He saw his aunt Petunia’s relaxed on her patio, legs primly crossed and her cup of tea held delicately in her small hands.  Steam rose from the cup and swirled in the ear gone with the sudden barks of dogs and the sound of revving car engines. He saw Snape turn his back, sneer at him before walking away with billowing robes. For a moment the image broke and he saw Haya, tears in her eyes, pleading that he must tell Sasuke…

Tell Sasuke what?

He shuddered as he felt the well of magic within him wrap tight like a coil that strained at the sides. Twisting and twisting till he could hardly breathe and tears brimmed at the corner of his eyes. He could feel as it tried to escape and break away from the chains he had learned by simply existing in the wizarding world.

A wind whipped around him, runes formed a circle around him and glowed a brilliant gold. At the centre of that circle, the Gryffindor crest engraved itself beneath him. Burning hot, threatening to set alight Harry’s skin.

He saw his world. The wizarding world brought to its knees, hail set ablaze with fire falling from the sky and rivers of blood that rushed through the land. He watched as Animals magical and non-magical fled and the shield that protected the wizarding world from the muggles, ripple.

Voldemort stood with his hand outstretched proclaiming himself a god as he unleashed plagues upon his own people. The plague of the scourge that was the making of the Gryffindor line. He saw Draco Malfoy shivering, rocking back and forth in front of the ritual circle he drew to send Godric Gryffindor Harry’s way.

His magic snapped like a whip! Crackling in the air fierce and wild, the scent of burning fires filling his senses. He clasped his hands before him as of in prayer, closed eyes facing the sky that was bleeding gold, not that he could see in that moment.

He saw Sasuke, his hand outstretched, the smallest of smiles on his face and behind him the blinding glare of divine light as he faded to nothingness.

Green eyes flew open, wide a terrified as tears slipped down his cheek unbidden. His claps hands trembled and like a dam that had broken free, he felt the true magnitude of his magic for the very first time. In the blinding glow of divine golden light that had consumed his mindscape in entirety, two figures stood tall and proud. There were no describable features. Nothing fathomable by the human mind as Harry trembled in place, heart seizing—breath stolen.

Voldemort fancied himself a god. In this moment Harry understood he was but a servant before their divine countenance. Mother Magic and Mother Nature as one.

Balance, he whispered desperately.

Forgetting all as acceptance settled in his soul and Godric Gryffindor finally whispered the meaning of Tu velim mortem.

Harry cherished it within his heart as much as his newfound understanding of the Gryffindor family and the responsibility that came with great power.

His family—

For a moment he envisioned Sasuke’s back turned to him. Unmoving with the symbol of the Uchiha clan large and unforgiving. He reached out only to flinch away from the much too bright light that was his reality

“My dearest child, welcome home,” two voices whispered as one. Sweet and soothing as tears continued to roll down Harry’s flushed cheeks.

Harry’s magic was free.

He for that moment he was free with shuddering breath and the heavyweight he had always carried lifted, only to settle and weigh down a fragile heart as much as he would deny it.

He was free.

Free!

If only for now until his faith would be ultimately tested and a decision would have to be made.

Tell Sasuke, he still heard Haya’s desperate cries,

Tu veilim mortem, Godric Gryffindor enforced, drowning out the woman’s cries and the wails of an innocent child.

He would not be held back by the chains of his own making any longer.

* * *

  “And in your divine countenance I saw the light and my path was chosen, for who am I but a man before the construct of the living gods,” Harry whispered, suddenly propelled out of his mind, finding himself trailing silently behind Sasuke.

He had spoken in his mother tongue he realized when Sasuke suddenly turned to stare him strangely. Realizing that along the way something had changed within Harry.

Marvelling at the sudden quiet resolve.

“Harry?” Sasuke asked, frowning when Harry said nothing and simply fell into step with him, fingers carefully lacing through his own.

He did not deny the touch. Heart skipping a beat like he would always deny as Harry stared strangely at their intertwined hands.

“You said you cared for me…as I do you. Would you care enough that you would weep when I finally let go? Weep when we’re done here and I return—” Harry stilled when Sasuke slowly grasped his chin between his long fingers. Soothing away the frown that creased the corners if sweet red lips.

“Do you care enough for me where you could so easily let go?” Sasuke whispered, tension high in the air as he watched Harry swallow nervously, staring straight into his eyes before he slowly pulled away.

There parted hands felt much too cold suddenly.

“Do you want to let go?” Sasuke frowned, he couldn’t describe what he was feeling in that moment. In truth, it was more that he could not understand it as Harry looked away and tucked a stray strand of hair behind his hair.

His heart stilled at the continued silence, a sudden anger stirring in his chest as Harry refused to answer and just stood there.

A sudden anger that—

“No, I don’t think I’ll ever want that, Sasuke. I—remember—duty, it will always come back to that. I think you’ve forgotten, at least just a little bit,” Harry frowned. He wasn’t going to mince his words and wax poetic. He doubted Sasuke would appreciate that. Sasuke had forgotten if only for a moment what was truly important at present. Harry wasn’t some lovesick fool who would bask in their new feelings without reminding Sasuke about their reality.

About what was important to the Uchiha for however far the scope of his duty traversed. Just as Harry’s own duty would see him go beyond a Veil once more with Hermione and Ron in tow.

“Forgotten? I haven’t forgotten anything,” Sasuke was colder than ever, mouth pulled into a sneer as he looked ahead. How easy it was for them to fall in the lull of fairy tales. He would regret nothing, regretted nothing… caring for Harry…but how easily they had fallen indeed.

“Go—Good. That’s good then,” Harry whispered, the soft flutter of his magic that caressed his cheeks bringing a soft smile to his face. Squaring his shoulders he took Sasuke’s hand in his own once more, not flinching when Sasuke clenched his hand tight as if to assure himself that Harry was still there.

Mother Magic and Mother Nature crooned in his ear. Whispered words of assurance where Godric would have condemned him for his feelings.

“Sasuke, I think—I know I—it’s more than caring. I know I’m falling—”

“We’re here,” They had both spoken at the same time and Sasuke might have just interrupted what could have been the biggest confession in Harry’s life. He felt how his heart pounded and the back of his neck itched with anxiety. Eyes wide when Sasuke looked his way before he ultimately released the breath he had been holding.

An opportunity wasted then. He could live with that, at least those were Harry’s thoughts as he ignored Sasuke’s burning gaze and stared ahead at the entrance of a cave formed like a snake’s open jaws, framed with flickering candlelight of purple, reds and blues.

“Orochimaru, you will kill him…by the break of dawn. It’s that easy?” Harry hadn’t spoken a word out loud. Sasuke flinching from the sudden voice that filled his mind. He stared at Harry in wonder for a moment before he quickly hid it.

Any other moment Harry would have found the reaction amusing. As it was he couldn’t bring himself to so much as crack a wise remark as he watched someone approach from the shadows of the cave. A tall wiry figure with flowing dark hair.

“Sasuke….and you, you must be Harry Potter. I’m so glad that you could finally make it. I welcome you. I welcome you as any gracious host, I hope you will feel right at home for your extended stay in my abode,” Harry fought down his raging anger as the crooning whisper proved more mocking than anything.

This man, the one who had sent Sasuke after him. The one who taken his sister and tortured her. This man who held the key to finding Gryffindor Temple where Godric’s own memories failed him…he was vile. His voice as whispery as a hissing snake.

Coiled and poised, ready for attack at that slightest traces of weakness that he tasted in the air.

He was beautiful with a vapid smile and narrowed golden eyes. He was pale from obvious sickness and weakened if the tremble in his limbs spoke true to Harry’s observant eye.

“You doubt me, Babydoll?” Harry heard Sasuke’s thoughts as Orochimaru moved forward into the light. Stepping closer and closer to Harry who would not dear flinch away.

Orochimaru smelt like death. A thought that should have proved intimidating as Harry watched snakes twisted and turn around the man’s bare feet. Snapping at his heels. Snapping at Harry’s own feet when the man finally stood directly in front of him, his long nails digging into Harry’s skin as he suddenly grasped Harry’s chin.

He heard their whispers of snake speaker. Curious little things as they tasted the air around Harry and pulled back feeling the heavy presence of Mother Nature’s disapproval of their actions.

Again she crooned in his ear.

“I doubt many things, but your ability could never be one of them, Uchiha” Harry whispered in Sasuke’s mind, bearing with Orochimaru’s uncomfortable attention. Barley preventing himself from lashing out with his magic where it was now free in a premature act to destroy the one truly responsible for his brother and sister’s pain.

Orochimaru would be dead come the break of dawn, by both Sasuke’s hand and his own.

Strange enough the thought brought no shame or guilt.

“I know I will surely enjoy your stay here and welcome the return of my wayward apprentice,” Orochimaru hissed. Laughing cruelly as he glanced Sasuke’s way. Even more, amused when faced with the stoic visage of the Uchiha’s true heir where Itachi was not.

* * *

 

 The weather was unusual, that much Naruto knew as he watched dark clouds loom and roll over each other. In the dead of the night, the sky seemed ominous than is usual was. Crackling with streaks of lightning that flashed almost too quickly behind the odd curves of thick clouds.

The air smelt like wet soil even though no rain had fallen, and the wind carried a dampness that only spoke of a raging storm to come.

“Damn it!” Damn it!” Naruto hissed under his breath, blue eyes sharp and filled with so many emotions as he stared out into the distance.  All he could see was the vast extension of forestry that surrounded Konoha in an out. The furious sway of tree limbs weighed down by thick foliage as a gust of wind swept through the village, carrying with it a swirl of dust.

Villagers screamed, men and women, holding tightly to their Kimonos as the wind swept soft fabric in the air and threatened to expose their bodies to the leering eyes that were the public. Dogs barked, wild and frightened as they sensed the tension in the air. The oncoming ill will that none of their fellow human companions could sense themselves.

In alleyways cats yowled and hissed, slinking away in the shadows only to peer out once more with beady glowing eyes.

“I should have kept my mouths shut! We both should have!” Naruto hissed, grinding his teeth, fist clenched tight that they paled where they rested on the rusty railings of the watchtower.

Tsunade before her sudden departure to the Fire Capitol, summoned by the Daimyo’s court, had placed both Naruto and Sakura on guard duty at the gates until her party’s return. As far removed from the Torture and Interrogation Department as they could get that they would be lucky to even catch a whisper of what new developments there were in said department.

The whole thing had been suspicious and strange and a warning from Tsunade, her stare unforgiving silenced their vehement protest at their new post. They were to remain inside the village she said. She would not allow them to partake in missions concerning Sasuke Uchiha as long as she was away from the village and secured away in the Daimyo’s court. Better yet she didn’t want them outside of the village when it was mostly Danzo’s lackeys that were left in administration.

Naruto grudgingly backed down, curious as to why the Daimyo would so suddenly summon Tsunade and her council. A council that included Danzo who had looked shifty and nervous as much as the war hawk tried to hide it.

Something was up, and Naruto might have wagered that it had something to do with the war that was quickly approaching their doorsteps. The effects already felt with the sudden loss of trade with key countries that had now caused a strain on their production chain. A strain that saw certain commodities slowly but surely becoming scarce and the villagers antsy, wondering what all the changes could mean.

Then there was the drop in missions. The majority of Konoha’s income that was further supported by the Daimyo of fires wealth and favour. Unlike other countries, there wasn’t much but lumber and few exotic plants to be traded to build the economy.

Konoha depended heavily on trade and alliances.

That was neither here or now, though. What angered Naruto was to know that Shikamaru had been detained by the Interrogation department for supposed treason. Tsunade hadn’t wanted Naruto or Sakura to know, but now they did. For how much she tried to keep them away from the whispers of the department, Konoha’s’ walls proved thin to keen ears.

Shikamaru had been in contact with Sasuke for years, and Kakashi, their sensei’s suspicious absence since Shikamaru’s arrest would point to the Jonin being just as guilty.

“We had nothing to do with Shikamaru’s arrest, Naruto! He chose to become a traitor. What we said or didn’t say wouldn’t change the fact that he willingly committed treason for whatever reason!” Sakura frowned as she moved to stand beside Naruto. It was awfully cold up there on the east tower that stood tall over the eastern walls of the village. A single torch flickered in the wind, smelling of burning oil and cloth, plumes of thick black rising from the lit wood to vanish in the air.

“He protected Sasuke’s son!” Sakura flinched at Naruto’s angered voice, heart skipping a painful beat before she composed herself. That’s right, because of what she had revealed, the son that Sasuke had kept hidden for so long had become common knowledge. It wasn’t either of their faults really, it spoke to Konoha’s lack of security of delicate information that the knowledge came out.

But…if she hadn’t opened her mouth—

“Shikamaru looked Tsunade straight in the eye and lied to her to keep Sasuke’s son out of the limelight, we in the same breath doomed him. Konoha won’t stop until that child is here with or without Sasuke and with the war…those out there won’t stop till they get the child,” Naruto whispered, chest heavy as he thought about the implications of everything.

“The Sharingan will always be a valuable asset,” Naruto finally looked at Sakura. Eyes mournful and filled with regret.

“How do we dare call Sasuke our friend? How do we dare say we love him when we can so selfishly discard all that he is because his wants don’t match with our wants? It’s all we’ve been doing because we want him back. Want our perfect little team in our perfect little world,” Naruto spat, looking away from Sakura, not willing to look into her eyes and see her condemnation.

His words sounded like he was giving up even to him. It wasn’t something he ever thought he was capable of, especially when it concerned Sasuke. But with everything that was happening; war at their doorstep, when he had seen Sasuke for the first time in years and how Sasuke had snarled at him, told him to play hero elsewhere. Shikamaru’s arrest and Kakashi’s disappearance …the fact that Sasuke had had a son and had kept him hidden for so long and Shikamaru of all people had known…

He felt raw.

Terribly raw and wounded. What the hell did they know about Sasuke?! What right did they have to bring him back to Konoha when they couldn’t even fathom the motivation for his departure? He had thought it had been senseless revenge…but now he thought it was much more.

So much more and he, Sasuke’s supposed best friend knew nothing!

“We’re such children. At 23 and we’re still snot-nosed brats, Sakura. Somewhere along the way, Sasuke grew up without us and we were left in the dust because we chose to be left in the dust. Rotting away. Everyone, every single one of our peers grew up without us.” Bitter, Naruto consuming bitterness mixed with so much guilt and shame.

He didn’t deserve to be called Sasuke’s friend. Not with the way things were now. He had to step back and re-evaluate. Educate himself, understand Sasuke before he could ever reclaim that title.

He needed to back off as much as his promise to Sakura and his own motivations years back would bid him lock unto Sasuke’s scent like a rabid wolf.

Kyuubi rumbled in displeasure within his mind at the mention. Fox then, a rabid fox, Naruto thought with the barest hints of amusement.

“I—it’s not that I—Sasuke belongs here, Naruto. He does! This is his home, this is his everything—” Sakura began weakly, voice trembling as the truth forced its way into her soul and ripped the windows her eyes open even as she continued to pull down the blinds.

“Is it. Is it really? For some reason, I can’t find myself accepting that delusion any longer. Sasuke was…he was never happy here. He was ok, somewhat, but he wasn’t happy. And now I realize there is more to Sasuke than just a wish to kill his brother—”

“I love him!” Sakura shouted, her arms trembling at her side as she looked away from Naruto’s pitying looks. She understood what he was saying, she really did, but she could not let go of this one selfishness. She saw a future where Sasuke would be in Konoha, loyal and not a traitor. A future where they maybe could be married and she would wear the insignia of the Uchiha clan proudly as she carried a son or a daughter in her womb.

She saw where he could be so happy with her. So, so happy instead of this ball of rage and darkness that made no sense. For what was the motive for it?!

She wouldn’t allow tears to slip down her cheeks. No, she wouldn’t, she could only hold the resolve in her heart and get Sasuke back with or without Naruto’s help!

“I love him too and I’m not giving up on that love. Whether it is just as a friend or as something more. I won’t give up the hope that Sasuke isn’t lost and maybe it stupid because I don’t think he’s actually lost like we’ve fooled ourselves to believe.” Sakura hated how Naruto’s deep voice was soothing and free of judgment as he spoke. Hated how he could stand so tall, towering over her, broad shoulders and sweet smile as if all would be right in the world. Hated how it seemed that he wouldn’t continue to pursue the same path that she had chosen and instead would venture to find his own.

“What I know is that I’ve allowed things to stagnate and I can’t even recognise what my dream is anymore. Is it to get Sasuke back, I don’t think so. Is it to become the Hokage, I don’t think so either. They both seem like a lonely child’s dream,” Naruto clenched his hands tight before slowly releasing the tension, keen ears picking up the low rumble of thunder as he watched the shadows flicker in the distant forests.

Nothing worth noting as of yet.

“Is that it? You’re just going to give up like everybody else?!” Sakura muttered softly, only the barest hint of anger among the exhaustion in her voice.

“Give up like you did way back when you lied to me told me you loved me and that I should stop searching for Sasuke?” It wasn’t an accusation, but it sure felt like one and Sakura couldn’t; help but wince. That, what she had said to Naruto back then—

“It wasn’t a lie. It still isn’t, at least I don’t think so,” Sakura whispered, light green eyes searching startling blue. Naruto said nothing, instead, he shook his head, carding his hand through his hair.

“Don’t you see, we need to take a step back, Sakura. We need to re-evaluate if we can ever hope to serve Konoha, stay true to her while staying true to ourselves. If we can ever hope to say we love Sasuke without strings attached and expectations, we need to let go. If only for a moment.” Naruto smiled sadly before stepping away. His shift was over.

“We need to understand, and I think I’ll start with understanding where my spirit came from. Understand my own motivations before I even dare to try to understand someone else’s. Sakura, our selfishness could very well endanger the life of an innocent child. Sasuke’s child that he must love with all his heart. As flawed as we are, no one, not even we, self-righteous as we are, deserve to be so selfish.”  The silence that settled between them was only broken by the sudden shower of rain that burst from the skies along with the much louder rumble of thunder.

“You do what you want then,” Sakura whispered, clearly finding that pill hard to swallow. Turning away from Naruto finally to focus on guarding the eastern wall. Naruto frowned, he would have said something more but—

“Alright then, Goodnight Sakura. I think…I’m going to see Shikamaru tonight,” Sakura didn’t answer and Naruto didn’t expect her to. He simply sighed feeling a sudden heavy weight settle on his shoulders, threatening to bend his spine and force him to his knees.

* * *

 

 “Just as I promised, your…sister,” Orochimaru whispered. Double doors creaked loud and clear, echoing through the empty hall. Harry swallowed tightly and it took all that he was, not kill Orochimaru where he stood! Hermione, his precious sister lay strapped to some strange gurney. Naked with so many scars cared into her skin. Swollen and bruised with the sluggish trails of blood that was just in the beginning stages of coagulation.

Her right eye was swollen shut, and it was a mystery that he could even figure that when the entirety of the right side of her face was swollen black and blue. Instruments lay around her. Surgical scalpels and clamps. Syringes, IV bag hooked up to her a needle pricked arm and to the side in a silver dish that he never learned the name of, what looked like a piece of her liver rested on ice.

He couldn’t help himself he ran to her side.

“Hermione!” Maybe he should have tried to remain calm. Tried to stay composed and not let Orochimaru see this weakness as he stood at the door, cruel smile upon his lips as he gently closed the room doors. Sasuke had vanished to wherever he went when he stayed with Orochimaru, so it was only two of them…well, three.

“Hermione,” Harry whispered, rage building. He could just kill Orochimaru now, he wouldn’t expect a thing! He could...he couldn’t rip through a dead bodies mind to find out what he needed to know about Gryffindor temple, and even now even as he tried he strangely could not skim the surfaces of Orochimaru’s mind.

Hermione shivered, whimpering before she opened her beautiful brown eyes. It killed Harry to see them so clouded with pain. One wide open, the other half mass because it was so swollen. She looked wild and terrified, eyes swivelling unfocused this way and that as she tried to pull away from Harry’s touch.

The wizard cursed when he realized he was touching her naked body. Who knew what Orochimaru did to her! She might very well be terrified of touch no matter who it was from!

“You’re—!”

“Disgusting? A creep, a monster? Nothing I haven’t heard before, my dear,” Orochimaru smoothly interrupted. Harry detested the arrogance the man basked in. Daring to turn his back to him as he ran his hands over a wall of what Harry realised were runes. He hadn’t even noticed the inscriptions, too focussed on Hermione and her terrible state.

The way she smelt heavily of chemicals and blood. Sedatives more and likely, it was the only way she would remain so still in her captures hold. Unlike him, Hermione was a truly ruthless fighter, and would never stop fighting until the very end.

Hermione suddenly grasped Harry’s arm, her nails digging into the wizard’s skin and all but drawing blood. Harry pulled his gaze from Orochimaru’s back to stare into her eyes. They brimmed with tears, hope and a strength that had not waned despite her plight.

“H—Harry,” She barely whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks and tainting a smile that even pained and marred with deep cuts was so achingly beautiful.

“Hermion—”

“I did it fo—for you. I didn’t care about the wizarding war. I cared about you and your sanity. I ha-had to send you here, I had to!”

“Hermione I—” Harry tried again, but she wouldn’t let him speak, gasping every word, so remorseful but so sure of her decision.

“I’m not so—sorry for throwing you here! I’m not! But I’m so sorry that I lied to you!”

“Oh, isn’t that sweet. Pure unadulterated love, it’s almost too much,” Orochimaru mocked finally turning away from the wall of runes to study the two. He found it amusing how Harry tried to cover the woman’s body with his own. A futile endeavour truly for he wasn’t interested beyond the mild enthusiasm he had harboured as he cut her body open and tried to figure magic as a whole.

Something that had ended in the most disappointing failure. Magic it seemed was something that he would never grasp. He hated the very thought because it meant he could not cross over into their strange world and learn all there was to learn, He wouldn’t have all that knowledge at his fingertips…well not yet, as he stared at Harry’s fuming form.

“Get it out! Tell me what the hell you want!” Harry spat, ignoring Hermione’s whimpers of his name, how she still dug her fingers into his skin, and how she still profusely apologized for her not so much betrayal.

“Oh, no words games or bargain? How absolutely dull,” Orochimaru drawled, stride smooth and easy as he began to circle both wizard and witch. He would have said something else as he caressed the steel of a scalpel that rested on the side table if it were not for the sudden fit of coughs that he had.

Raucous coughs that shook his whole body and left blood staining his lips.

“You’re sick, better yet, you’re dying,” Harry muttered, not a flinch when the man so suddenly pinned him in place with an eerie gaze. Orochimaru said nothing at first before he began to chuckle, low and gravelly before erupting into a terrible laugh that would leave any sane person paling.

“This body fails me, yes, but in due time I’ll simply acquire another. Sasuke is wrapping up to be quite the viable candidate and his son…well he will do most nicely when that body itself ultimately fails.” Orochimaru smiled before stopping directly in front of Harry. Without fanfare he took up the discarded sheets from the gurney and flung it over Hermione’s body, laughing again when Harry simply glared.

“Don’t worry about that piece of liver dear, I took her apart, far be it that I won’t put her back together again. Of course only in light of your compliance,” The snake Sanin was truly enjoying this little morsel. Harry Potter who had all the answers in that pretty little head of his of what lies within Gryffindor’s temple.

Secrets of old, secrets of creation, secrets of immortality he wondered.

“Your body, it will continue to fail you, I gather that much. What if I told you that I had a way to grant you what you desired?” Orochimaru stilled at the question, observing those serious green eyes and marvelling at the fire within. He couldn’t help but lick his lips excitement at the power there. The bull-headed courage, the will to accomplish anything if not for himself but the ones that he loved.

What a wonder to have someone so golden at your side, loyal to a fault, because yes he could read that much from Harry Potter.

“And what is it that I desire?” Orochimaru purred, sly as he shifted around the room yet again, the snakes that so often accompanied him slithering away to the dark corners of the poorly lit room. Poorly lit for the moment as Orochimaru was not partaking in his usual experiments.

“You’ll let Hermione go, you’ll stop messing with her body and you’ll cease the hunt for us when we leave—”

“When you leave?” Orochimaru interrupted amused but Harry continued on straighten himself and pulling away from Hermione’s grip to stand tall before the Sanin not one bit intimidated.

This was the Harry Potter Sasuke should have met. The one that would give you hell for daring to hurt him or anyone that he loved. The one who could be remorselessly vicious in a moment though he would be buried in guilt when it was all over.

“—and I’ll grant you your desire.” Harry continued as if not interrupted, the thrum of magic under his skin strong and pulsing. A comfort and a reminder that even with Sasuke wherever he was he was not needed. Had never been needed for his to stand toe to toe with Orochimaru and insane man for all the whispers of brilliance would like to convince you otherwise.

Just like Voldemort, another snake that he would trap and dispose of once the right buttons were stroked.

“Again, what is my desire, Harry Potter? From where I stand I have the upper hand. Sasuke is not here for you to hide behind and I have your dear precious sister captive in my fortress. I have you captive in my fortress as much you bask in the illusion of freedom,” The Sanin drawled. Voice deep and strangely sweet, golden eyes filled with cruel intent as he began to circle Harry again.

The tension was thick in the air. Almost pliable as Orochimaru’s footsteps echoed in the silent room.

“Ha-Harry, are you…?” Harry would almost smirk if it wouldn’t have torn the web he was now spinning. Orochimaru was to die by his and Sasuke’s hand, he had to play this right if all will go well with little difficulty.

There was still honour in underhanded tactics once justice was served. The true Gryffindor way as much as society would baulk at the notion. It pleased him that Hermione, brilliant Hermione had somehow caught on, and helped fuel his plight by acting horrified at what he offered.

“You can’t Harry! Yo—you can’t! It’s forbidden! I don’t care if I die here, but you won’t do that! Never that!” Hermione shouted, voice growing stronger as she struggled in her binds and pleaded desperately with Harry who seemingly didn’t listen.

It peeked Orochimaru’s interest and for a moment he forgot about the mysteries of Gryffindor temple.

“It’s in the way you walk, the things you say—” Harry shrugged of Hermione’s hand.

“The way you carry yourself and this drive of never-ending knowledge especially that surrounding death…you desire permanency. A permanency only immortality can bring,” Harry whispered, careful to a flicker of genuine fear in his gaze. Which sane man did not fear the prospect of a forever seeing the things that he had seen and lived the life that he had lived?

Orochimaru stilled, not even breath escaping his lips as he locked on to those simple words. Immortality, it sounded too good to be true…it wasn’t true! He had search near and far for the key to such a venture without success.

He had…

But he had never had access to this strange world that these two originated. His eyes flickered to the woman who seemed terrified at prospect, resignation set in her eyes. Then he looked at Harry, obviously afraid, but willing to do anything to secure his loved one's safety.

Was he truly foolish enough to grant an enemy something so precious?

He didn’t think so, but could he risk passing up such an offer just to unravel the mystery on the wall behind him? He could see what Harry Potter had to offer, give him a false sense of security. In the end, he still wouldn’t hold true to his end of the bargain. These two, Harry specifically was too precious a fund to simply let go on s whim such as this.

“I’m listening…”

* * *

 

 Within hours Harry had convinced Orochimaru that all it would take was a special brew.  A potion created by a famous man of their kind known as Nicholas Flamel.

In truth, it was a potion that while not harmful to wizards was quite dangerous for any non-magical being human or otherwise. The effects wouldn’t be felt right away. No, instead they would feel a boost of great energy.  They would feel like they were on top of the world.

Orochimaru had forced Harry to take a drink before his very eyes. Prove to him his dedication. Harry hid his smiles under the brim of tiny potion cups. And Hermione watched with a savage thrill as the man that had taken so much from her lost himself in their trap…no, Harry’s trap and most definitely the Uchiha’s as well.

“It’s done then?” Harry didn’t even jump when Sasuke suddenly appeared behind him. Hermione, though she tensed, her hand held in Harry’s hand as the wizard tended to the wounds on her face. A futile endeavour. Wounds like hers, the mental ones, for as much as Harry would deny it was what he was trying to heal, would take some time to heal and no matter what Harry did with his magic nothing would change.

Hermione had carefully not commented on Harry’s sudden skill with wandless magic.

Harry merely hummed a spark of magic igniting from his fingertips to carve a rune into Hermione’s skin. It glowed gold like all the runes he knew now, seeping into her skin and pulsing, cuts sealing close though leaving scars behind. Harry regretted that not even those he could remove.

“You nice to meet you again, Sasuke Uchiha,” Hermione spoke carefully, looking up through matted eyelashes at the man who only had eyes for Harry. She looked between the two. She felt the pull of energy between them, the tension and the want—

Did Harry find someone to care for in his time here? A murder as some would convince her a cruel man, an intelligent man…a human man. She felt a thrill run up her spine a spark of happiness.

Harry had found someone! She didn’t think Sasuke was ideal for Harry not really, but she could not mistake that connection that was so tangible the air, and who was she to question who wasn’t or was good for Harry.

She was happy for him, happy until she realized that…maybe that at the end of this all…there might be heartache. They were returning to the wizarding world and even though she hadn’t cared to see Harry go back…she did choose to throw Harry though the Veil if only to stop the plague he suffered and not to find the power to defeat Voldemort as so many believed. Like Ron and Draco believed.

She didn’t care about Harry fighting a bloody war. No! She cared about Harry himself and if he would ever be happy. If they never returned she wagered she had nothing to lose. She had lost her parents, Draco, the thing between them…it had barely even begun, not to mention when she considered her on again off again relationship with Ron.

“I would apologize for trying to kill you but I wanted to survive, unfortunately, …or fortunately—” Hermione looked between the two, gaining an unreadable look from Harry and a raised eyebrow from the Uchiha.

“—you proved more skilful and you lived. A pity that, or not so much pity. A pleasant outcome maybe?” Hermione’s smile was more mischievous than anything.

“You’re different from the redhead,” was Sasuke’s only acknowledgement of the woman before he turned to Harry once more.

“I would advise that you move her now, I’ll meet you at the front entrance when it’s all over.  I assume you have everything you need.” He glanced at the wall of runes before searching for confirmation in Harry’s eyes.

“You will kill him right. There’s no other way... you will—” Harry started softly, already guilt was settling in. Hermione clenched his hand in support.

“You already started the process, why question it now, Babydoll?” Sasuke smirked, happy when Harry glared at him like he usually did. A familiar fire that he cared for much more than he would admit.

“Ok,” Harry finally answered, shoulders squared as he reinforced his resolve. He was ok with this. He would get all he needed from Orochimaru, already from glancing at the rune wall he realised that it was a map. The magic pulsing from it, a beacon that he would lock unto once he deciphered to coordinates. Truthfully he had already deciphered more than half of it.

Sasuke didn’t say anything else as he drew his blade from his waist, already making his way out of the room and towards Orochimaru’s bedroom. If Harry was right, and he knew that Babydoll was right, the weakness should now set into Orochimaru’s limbs. Set in before the man could ever realize how two little wizards could so easily pull the wool over his eyes.

* * *

 

 Haya’s heart thundered in her chest as she ran with all her might. Throwing the basket she had carried to the market to the side as she skidded through mud and dirt. Her sandals snapped and sent her flying. Her knees torn for the painful fall not that she cared! She had to get to Saijun!

Rain beat her skin and above her lighting snapped like a whip that threatened to strike her. Bring her to heel for trying to defy fate.

She didn’t care. Visions flashed before her. Saijun’s wails, desperate cries and blood. So much blood!

She couldn’t fail now! She couldn’t.

The house she had settled with Uchiha-sama’s son was in site upon the hill. Candlelight still flickering in the window and all seemed well. For a moment the burn her chest was soothed and hope soared until she realised something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

Thunder shook the earth. Shook her out if her stupor as her thighs burned and her skin slicked with sweat, mixing with rainwater. Leaving her oily more than anything instead of soothed.

“Saijun!’ She screamed, terrified by the silence, terrified when she realised that the front door had been kicked down and chaos remained in its wake. The old woman she had hired to watch over Saijun while she purchased supplies at the market lay dead. Her eyes were rolled over to reveal white. Awful ghost white! Her throat was slit and her stiffening body prostrate among her own blood that had yet to harden.

“Saijun!” She screamed her throat raw, fear threatening to choke her where she stood. How could she have been so stupid?!

Why?!

Why did she leave that baby boy alone?! Sasuke’s precious son!

She raced through the ransacked room, hope still in her heart where none should be. Saijun’s room door had been kicked off and his crib…

His bed empty except for suspicious blood stains on innocent white blankets.

The wind in response howled, and rafters threatened to tear away as rain showed no mercy, tearing away the earth in glee.

Haya sank to the floor in defeat. Uncaring of the glass that pierced her knees and legs.

“No,” She whispered hoarsely, tears spilling down her cheeks and breath shallow. How hadn’t she seen this until it was too late?

How?!

She gripped her hair tight, screaming to the heavens in her grief.

Saijun was taken and there was blood!

Saijun was taken—

He could be dead he could be—

“It seems, we are too late,” Haya didn’t even flinch at the sudden smooth voice, too lost in her grief as she wailed. It was Itachi Uchiha and his partner who slowly entered the house. They noted the blood, kunai marks an obvious sign of a fight. Itachi could bet that beyond Saijun’s bedroom window would be dead bodies of sound Ninja and Kumo alike.

“He could be dead then, all they need is his eyes,” Kisame muttered, carefully walking around the sobbing woman. She muttered frantically that someone had to tell Sasuke over and over.

“Or maybe not, he could be alive,” Kisame finally looked at Itachi. The man didn’t show it but he was obviously pained that he couldn’t have reached his nephew in time. Pained that he had ultimately failed once again to protect someone from his family.

“Kumo has him. Kumo has the boy.” It might have been the final nail in the coffin but it was all it took for Haya to scream her throat horse, collapsing into herself and if it weren’t for Itachi’s quick reflexes she would have fallen completely in broken glass.

“Then that is one less pair of Sharingan to get their hands on. Only Sasuke would remain, and this will definitely bring him right at their doorsteps, Unless I can convince him otherwise,” Itachi whispered, dread settling into his stomach for the future that lay before all of them.

“Tough luck there, pretty boy. Sasuke would probably drive his sword through your gut before you even utter a word,” Kisame scoffed, kicking at the glass at his feet.

* * *

 

“Harry, what is it?”  Hermione felt dread the moment she had seen that small exhausted bird circle above the before deciding to land on Harry’s tentatively outstretched hand. It had a message tied to its foot as it puffed for air. The witch pulled the blanket Harry had wrapped around her naked body closer than ever. Seeking comfort and warmth

Behind them, they could hear the sound of battle. Of blades clashing and fires set alight, of ninja’s who fought for their lives but were ultimately cut down by Sasuke on a warpath. Harry didn’t think too much of it, even if nerves set in and he felt like rushing in to lend a hand. 

Afterall, Sasuke did this to secure his friend's safety, to secure  _his_  safety so there would be no one left to hunt them down for who they were and what they knew. Somone as dangerous as Orochimaru could not be allowed to live to haunt their dreams another day.

They could only imagine the faceoff between Sasuke and Orochimaru. How they would fight to the death and only one would be the victor in the end as they shivered because of the sudden cold gust of wind that travelled from over the mountains.

“Harry?” She grew alarmed as her brother paled, the piece of paper shaking for how much he trembled. What was this now? Was there more danger to come?! Wasn’t all over and they could safely travel to Gryffindor temple, the location clear in Harry’s mind and by extension Hermione and Ron when they went back to the village to retrieve him?

Harry said nothing, only looking up at the sound of footsteps and a shadow figure that slowly emerged from Orochimaru’s cave. It was Sasuke, blade stained heavily with blood that still dripped from the tip, blood that splattered in strange streaks against his cheeks. A scroll was held in his other hand and Harry could bet that within that scroll would be Orochimaru’s body.

“I—it’s Saijun! I couldn’t read it well because I still can’t understand—but—this is the Kanji for his name isn’t it? And this symbol over here, it means grave danger right?” Harry blurted out. He wasn’t making much sense, but the more he spoke the harder Sasuke’s expression became.

Hermione wanted desperately to tell Harry to shut up. Take back whatever he said because suddenly Sasuke resembled the demons she had heard people describe him as. One without remorse or mercy.

The man took the paper from Harry’s hand carefully scanning through every word. Harry swallowed tightly when he suddenly clenched said paper so tight, crumbling it in his bloodstained hand.

“Sas—”

“It’s from one of my allies, Shikamaru.  For a while, I’ve been receiving blank messages from him and wondered about it. I knew something was wrong but figured that in time I would know the reason behind his actions, but—

“It’s Saijun isn’t it? Then you have to go! There is no question about it. I don’t need your help any longer I can get by on my own now, your son needs you!” Harry was fierce in the moment, green eyes glowing with passion.

Either way, Sasuke would have gone, that was simply the truth. His son was in danger because of Konoha and he was far away from him with only Haya to combat Konoha’s might. Then there was the implication that other than Konoha, another force was out there that did not speak for Saijun’s wellbeing.

Sasuke quickly summoned one of his eagles. A huge beast that Harry scrambled back and nearly stumbled into Hermione who had limped closer to Harry as he stared the Uchiha down.  Above them, thunder rumbled ominously.

Sasuke summoned another hawk, a smaller one that could fit in the palm of his hands, gently handing it to Harry who accepted the chirping bird in confusion.

“If you need me, she’ll know where to find me. You find me, Babydoll, I promised you I’d see you through to the very end,” Sasuke’s voice brooked no argument. Serious as he climbed upon the large eagle and righted himself. Ready to find Haya and his son, bring them to safety, while sending help for Shikamaru who he knew must be in trouble beyond Konoha’s walls.

Harry smiled sadly, cradling the baby eagle to his chest. Somehow he knew it would not be as simple as Sasuke made it out to be. Right now, right here, their paths were diverging and Harry truly doubted they would meet at another crossroad.

“Go protect your son, Sasuke…and Sasuke—” Harry spoke before the man could take flight. His heart hammered chest, and Sasuke, I’ve fallen in love with you, and Harry could hear his own voice whisper in his head. A heavy burden on his heart as he thought about his journey to Gryffindor temple and how it would lead him home. Unseen by Sasuke and Hermione, Godric Gryffindor materialized behind Harry, sharp nails digging into his shoulder as a reminder.

“Duty Harry, Duty not love. This is your new crossroad. Chose wisely. What do you stand to gain to tell him that you love him? Distraction, a distraction he doesn’t need for we both know whatever has happened to his son, isn’t as simple as it seems,” Godric hissed in Harry’s ear.

“—thank you. Thank you for everything,” Harry finally spoke, breathing out the breath he held as Hermione leaned into his side and wrapped her arm around his. They watched as Sasuke took flight, the man looking back only once, a strange emotion in his eyes.

It was then that Harry realized, Sasuke knew what he would have said as he faded out of their sights with the powerful flap of an eagle’s wings.

The baby eagle chirped pitifully against his chest.

Sasuke knew…and he, he returned the very same feelings. They more than cared for each other. It was love…but, it was love that was perhaps not meant to be…

Mother Nature and Mother Magic proved no comfort even as they crooned in his ear. Not even Hermione safe and sound, pressed against his side provided much comfort. And Merlin! Shouldn't there be some deep relief! Shouldn’t he be happy that he, Hermione and Ron would be together again

He should be happy, he should be as he felt the connection to nature and his magic like never before. Orochimaru was dead and couldn't possibly hunt them down. Hunt Hermione and Ron down to hurt them again. He had retrieved the coordinates to Gryffindor Temple and could find his way on his own.

Love…

Love only ever hurt...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well through my exhaustion, illness all around malaise, I've managed to upload another chapter. Even though it was quite painful on my end I thought that it was about time I gave you all an update in December (it's 11k+ long). Hope you enjoy, talk to me, loves. Let me know what you liked. What you thought while reading ^_^ As for other notices, the next chapter should be the final chapter I think so CROSS is rapidly coming to a close. I'm hoping that I will actually feel motivated and well enough to write that chapter so you all get it in December. Fingers crossed. Again, hope you enjoy ^_^


	18. So...what if the rain falls...

**Dedicated to Thalia, seriously you were instrumental in motivating me to get this out even though I lacked the drive!❤**

The beauty of childhood tales…is the devastatingly dark truth within.

A truth we live for.

Or do we?

We preach sermons of revealing the truth, living in the scope of reality that we wouldn’t dare fool ourselves to believe life was more than what it is.

Cold, cruel, faithless…

Merciless.

This is the truth of childhood tales, at least it is what Harry thinks as he stares at his destiny from less than a mile away. The night air is colder than it had ever been, chilling him to the bone as his breath misted over. The forest behind them groans and creaks. Ominous whispers escaping her dark depths that grips the soul and speak of nothing good for a night without the moon and shining stars to light the way.

Only pitch darkness, broken only by the glow of pure magic that floated above Harry’s hand. Pulsing a brilliant red with the whispers of Mother magic to soothe his fears.

“Ha-Harry?” It was Hermione, bundled up in a thick blanket, her eyes sunken and seemingly bruised. It seemed that it was after her escape from Orochimaru’s grasp that the weariness that captured her body truly showed itself. She was strong and wouldn’t dare show weakness but it would be hard to miss how she slumped into Ron’s hold, said wizard holding her tight, tucking her into his side. His grip was tight and unforgiving a clear expression of his hidden fears that she would disappear again. That the woman he loved dearly would be taken away to face the horrors of this not so new world once more if the opportunity proved right.

She frowned when Harry did not answer, her body shifting from Ron’s too restrictive hold to touch the man’s shoulder.

“Harry, what is it?” He seemed pained that much Hermione could tell, but the question remained was a physical pain…or was it the emotional pain that he had always expertly buried deep inside. Willing to suffer in silence because that was just how Harry Potter was. The weight of the world was forever on his shoulders even with the support that visible stood at his back.

The sky rumbled above them and with the rumble, the rains came harder. Still, Harry remained silent, looking to the far distance left hand circled around the baby eagle that chirped pitifully, burrowing its way into Harry’s hold to escape the torrent of rain. Hermione felt her heart, ache when she thought of the few nights past. The Uchiha’s departure, the many words left unsaid and those that did not have to be. To watch Harry let go of his happiness so selflessly to watch the Uchiha assume his duty and leave Harry behind even if he could not help but look back one last time.

An action that broke her heart, for rather than the hopeful air it should have cast about them it was like the final nail in the proverbial coffin.

Sasuke did not look back after that one glance and Harry never answered the unspoken promise the Uchiha—no—Sasuke had asked of him. To find him, find him as if he did not know Harry would leave for the Wizarding world and this land would be nothing but a painful memory…if even that.

“Harry…are we going to—” Ron hesitated, unwilling to break the strange tension for once. He and Harry they still weren’t on the best of terms, not after what he said and how he acted. He…as much as he didn’t want to, understood it. He had dealt Harry a wound as simple as it would look to most. Words and actions were a terrible weapon if left in the wrong hands.

Unfortunately, his hands proved the worst out of anyone at the moment.

He remembered the stark relief he felt when he saw Harry and Hermione climbing that hill. To see that Hermione was alive, she was alive and in one piece for the most part. His heart soared when she offered him a soft smile that maybe did not reach her eyes as they once did when she looked at him but was very much still there.

He wasted no time, barely wincing from his own wounds as he pushed pass Harry to envelop her in tightest of hugs possible. He fretted over her protesting form, looking around suspiciously for the Uchiha and being even more elated to see the man absent.

Harry had revealed that the Uchiha was gone and without care, he had smiled in relief, smiled in relief only to crumble in guilt when those piercing green eyes pinned him in place. He swallowed tightly when he remembered the private,  _intimate_  moment he had witnessed. That brief glimpse of vulnerability and quiet happiness when Harry melted in the Uchiha’s arms.

He hated the man! Was glad that he was gone even and that they could now focus on getting back to the wizarding world to end the war they had left behind but—

He couldn’t shake the guilt knowing that he was over the moon with the man’s absence when Harry—Harry for the first time had seemed so free. He didn’t for that simple moment bare the weight of the world on his—no, that was a lie. Even then he bore the weight of responsibility without so much of a waiver, but in the Uchiha’s arms, that weight though heavy…it hadn’t been all consuming.

It shamed him to know that for all their years of friendship he had never been able to provide that level of comfort and support. He had never been able to lighten that weight on his best friend’s shoulder. Instead, he and the lot of them, the Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world—they had buried their hero in a shallow grave of their own making. Left him to suffocate and fight his way free while sparring them the hurt and pain of a war that should have never been Harry’s responsibility.

Ron felt the tight grip of shame threaten to rip his heart from his body. To crush his spirit as he would have crushed Harry if the wizard hadn’t been made of stronger stuff.

“—are we moving forward or are we—”

“We can turn back if it’s what you really want!” Hermione interjected before Ron could get another word in. She was a force to be reckoned with as she willed Harry to face her. Her brown eyes were filled with both fire and ice. Clashing elements that proved devastating for whoever was lucky or unlucky enough to match her gaze.

“—Hermione! He can’t, you know what’s at—”

“I don’t care what’s at stake, Ron! Call it cruel or callous but I don’t give a damn about a world that won’t fight for itself! I—I know you want—it’s selfish, it’s damn selfish but I don’t care, Ron! I don’t—” She blew out a frustrated breath, wincing at the pain in her chest for the action though it did not deter her from her mission.

Harry stood still. Back facing them and rain plastering his thick hair to his skull. He didn’t much seem to care about the argument behind him as he twisted his hand side to side, the beautiful blue and red glow shifting to match his movements.

“Harry, will you listen to me! If you want to go back we can—it’s not too late and he gave you that eaglet we could—”

“We’re here.” The simple statement stopped Hermione in her tracks, the words lodging in her throat as Harry shifted again. Twisting the light this way and that as if to ward off the darkness that lay before them. A darkness that the ball of light Harry controlled could not lighten.

With a soft whisper of “Lumus Maxima,” the words so easily rolling off the tip of his tongue to echo in the cold night air the soft light that hovered above his palm grew blinding.

It pulsed like Hermione’s hammering heart, hurting the eyes for every flash before it shot up in the ear and exploded like the muggle fireworks that ever seemed outwardly and magnificent.

Blues and reds that clashed together, multiple balls of light falling from the sky to illuminate the looming mountain that stood before them. Hermione and Ron gasped in wonder, Ron going as far as to hesitantly lace his fingers through Hermione’s as they both stared at the site before.

The ruins of a looming temple stood before them. Old and towering and perhaps it was wrong to call such a structure ruins, for it was not. Towers rose to the sky, worn stone blocks covered in thick green vines that twined like a spider’s web. Bridges that curved and crumbled ever so slightly for their age, archways lined with tattered flags with shimmering golden crests.

This temple that so closely resembled the sacred Japanese temples Harry had read about, with fading red paint and golden trims were the mark of his destiny and the end of a journey that had only truly begun. Covered in thick mist, an ominous image upon the backdrop of surrounding shadow covered mountains, this was the beginning and the end of the Gryffindor line.

This was the location of that one sacred rune that would help him defeat Voldemort and put an end to a war he had never wished to be a part of.

“It’s…beautiful,” Ron whispered, not even realizing that he had taken a tentative step forward. He had let go of Hermione’s hand, standing so close to Harry that he could practically feel the heat from his friend seep into his own body.

“To think that the Gryffindor family we all but worship originated here and—”

“Harry, it’s not too late. We can go back,” Hermione interrupted, uncaring if she cut off Ron’s word vomit about the wonders of the Gryffindor family and whatever else history he thought he knew. She loved him, maybe not as much as one time but still, Ron…when it came to Harry he always seemed to find the worse things to say.

What the hell did Harry need to know about the Gryffindor line, he  _was_  the Gryffindor line.  The fact remains that the temple for all its outwardly beauty represented the loss of Harry’s freedom as they knew it.  It represented a boy who would be forced to become some messiah due to the prophecy babbled from the lips of an insane woman.

She did not push Harry through the veil to regain his sanity, only to find something so unique and so willing to give it up.

“Harr—”

“Hermione, just—just drop it. It’s over,” Harry sighed, running his hand tough his wet hair. A nervous habit he couldn’t quite tell when he had gained.

“Just…over,” Harry sighed, before squaring his shoulders already making his way up the hill that led to Gryffindor temple. No one mentioned how he quietly tucked the eaglet within his shirt to keep the poor bird warm. No one said a word when he hesitated and for a second looked in the distance where Sasuke Uchiha had left for his journey.

Hermione would have cried if she could. She would have, for all the emotions her stubborn self-sacrificing friend would not let out himself. Instead, she carried his emotions deep inside her heart and hoped to any god that was listening that she would not die for the weight of them.

“Was I wrong to—” It wasn’t so much of a question but a statement that left Ron’s lips. He watched with troubled eyes as Harry walked towards his destiny without a flinch. Head held high as he left all his wants and needs behind for a selfish people.  Ron could feel the stir of bile in the pits of his stomach, skin hot even though the rain so, cold and alms calmly as the unforgiving wave of guilt threatened to topple him for a pedestal he didn’t even realize he had climbed.

Was it wrong of him to expect Harry to return without protest to the wizarding world to free their people? Was it? When his mother, how often she slipped his mind and his siblings could be suffering at the hands of Voldemort. When the only world he had ever known has been ripped apart by the seams leaving the fear of a future so unknown and unfamiliar.

Without Harry, their home, his home, his everything would be lost. There was nothing to protest that simple fact. Was it cruel of him that in those moments Harry’s happiness was far from his mind even though the boy, no man was his dearest friend?

Was it wrong to be so selfish? To want his word saved at the cost of a romance that couldn’t possibly have gotten so far? Truly, how deeply could Harry really feel for the Uchiha and the Uchiha of him? It couldn’t possibly be so astronomical that the faith of a world, Harry’s world was but a burden he must unwillingly carry?

“Tell me this, Ron, is it right to put the faith of the world upon one man and expect that he must sacrifice all that he is and loves for a people who won’t fight their own battles? A battle you won’t fight yourself as much as you thought helping me to send Harry here was your selfless contribution.” Hermione’s words were bitter and meant to cut deep.

Ron knew for a fact that every word sliced through him with a truth he never wished to consider, his vision so clouded in black and white and never grey.

Never grey like Draco Malfoy, the man who held a part of Hermione’s heart as much as she denied it. A man that seemingly understood her on a level that he could never.

“Does he know? Does Draco Malfoy know that you constructed this plan not to save the wizarding world as we thought, but simply to free Harry from his duty?” Accusations fuelled by mounting personal confusion and anger, that much Hermione could tell as Ron’s cold world settled deep in her soul.

She wouldn’t bow her head in shame, though. She would hold her head as high as Harry who was quite a distance before them. She would straighten her back and square her shoulders like the toy soldier Harry had always been the moment the wizarding world decided that their fate lay solely in the hands of an innocent child made innocent no more.

“With everything that is happening at this very moment, do you really want to go there?” Hermione scoffed at his non-answer walking pass him to catch up with Harry. It was moments like these she wondered how the three of them had ever stayed together for so long.

The Golden Trio, just another label forced upon them by the wizarding world. A label that defined them without so much of their say so.

“And if you must know, he doesn’t, not that it much matter if he did. I used him he used me. In the end, I may have freed Harry from his mental turmoil but you and the wizarding world still ensures that he will never much be free in truth,” It was harsh and maybe uncalled for Hermione thought, but if Harry wasn’t going to be angry, then she would be angry or him!

Nothing more was said, they both followed after Harry silently, both lost in their own guilt-ridden minds, both unaware of the spectre of Godric Gryffindor who watched the form the shadows an unreadable emotion in his eyes.

* * *

Not again, he could not fail again!

Heart hammering in his chest, Sasuke willed his summon to move faster, even as the wind ripped through his skin and threatened to steal his breath were he stood. Above him, lighting crackled too close! His hair stood on end on the burn of electric current stung his skin.

He did not care.

His summon sensing his fears increased his speed, tucking his wings tightly to his body as he rode the turbulent air currents of the oncoming storm. Sasuke didn’t even flinch when he suddenly dipped, both of them hurtling to the ground with a breakneck speed that left his ears clogged and skin pulled too tight before she abruptly swept through the thick foliage of a forest before taking flight in the air again.

He cursed himself for not planning enough. If he had he could have easily found himself where his child was. He could easily come to his said if he were ever in danger!

He should have kept focused as he had always done throughout the years! What had changed? What had caused him to put his son in more danger than he had ever been in?  What had caused him to fail Saijun as he had failed his son’s twin? His firstborn that came into the world without breath in his lungs. Blue and cold to the world with dark eyes that would never open.

His first born that he buried under the roots of a Sakura tree that bore no life. The very tree that erupted in flames at the shrine house they had fled.

His firstborn had resembled eerily his mother, the woman who bled for the Uchiha name and died with her head held high. Defiance in the very eyes that stared into Sasuke’s own and told him to be strong. Silently telling him to seek freedom from Konoha and her poison.

The battle between him and Orochimaru raged in his mind. They had been surrounded by fire if his own making as solid steel clashed against solid steel.  Orochimaru even when weakened was no simple-minded opponent. He matched Sasuke blow for blow, sliced through Uchiha flesh and spilt Uchiha blood.

He revelled in it, mocked Sasuke for his apparent failure to dispatch him as he slinked around the room like the snake he was, spitting venom. Sasuke was not fazed, he never expected their battle to be easy. No, he would not expect such a thing when it was Orochimaru who taught him all he knew. When it was the Snake Sanin that helped to forge him into a formidable blade as much as the actual chakra laden steel he wielded.

Sweat slicking his skin and his breaths harsh for every inhale of acrid smoke that filled his lungs, he pushed on. He fought t with all he had, expertly wielding chakra to do his bidding as he pushed Orochimaru back and cornered him.

Cornered animals were always the most dangerous he thought. Before his eyes, Orochimaru shed his fake skin and revealed a monstrous white beast that was his true form. Towering like the snake gods of childish fairy-tale meant to rob said child of sleep. Meant to drive the fear of a divine god into their souls and leave them weak to their parent’s wishes

Without pause Orochimaru now a beast of old fairy-tale, attacked! Striking with precision but missing each time he hoped to kill Sasuke and claim his body as was his right! His right before he fell to the temptation of a much too sly Wizard with piercing green eyes. Sasuke did not waver, sword light with the Chidori passed down to him by a mentor who had not abandoned him for his perceived betrayal of Konoha. He struck the beast down, the room falling around them in unforgiving flames and a mighty roar from the downed beast.

Blood gurgled to Orochimaru’s throat as he watched Sasuke force the blade further into his throat and drag the edge to sever tender delicate flesh. Strand by strand he could feel the separation of his neck and knew that for all his will to live an immortal life and gain all the knowledge of the world, this was his merciless end.

In his last moments, Sasuke remembered the words spat at him. How they filled him with a dread like no other, not even Itachi could fuel. A dread that left his world tilting in its axis even if he did not show it and stirring of self-blame and anger stirring in his gut.

_“Poor child, you play a game of politics and for it, you will lose your son! They will take his eyes form him. They will and with its loss, he will die as his body is used to fuel the Gedo Mazo that spells Konoha and her ally’s destruction!”_

_“Kumo and Iwa have waged war, boy, and you my dear, so caught up in romance remains the centre of it. You and your ilk!”_  Orochimaru never sounded more deranged than at that moment. Cruel smile threatening to spilt his cheeks apart as much as Sasuke’s sword cut through the cords of his neck. He looked on with a wildness not many could match, yet deep in molten gold eyes there was pity and there was but a drop of concern and strange caring. A love for a son that never was, for Sasuke Uchiha, was and would never be the son of Orochimaru.

“Faster, Garuda!” Sasuke almost sounded breathless as he held tight to brown feathers, knowing deep in his heart that he would not reach Saijun in time, that he may very well be too late. The weight of his failure threatened to choke him where he sat.

_“So caught up in romance”_

“Faster!” He shouted, willing himself to feel hope but knowing there was no hope for anyone of Uchiha blood. A pessimistic perspective yet to be proven false for all the suffering those of Uchiha blood bore.

Garuda swept through the now visible village that sought, both man and summons uncaring of the screams of ambling villagers who watched the summon take flight once more in wonder.  Dust flew in the air and they did all they could to hold their valuables of the gust of wind Garuda left in his wake.

The hawk screeched, loud and powerful as it gave one powerful flap of its wings, shouting in the air towards the mountain in the not so much distance. The mountain where one small house should be. Where Haya and his son, his little baby son should be.

Sasuke felt a grip of fear, different than anything he had ever experienced in his life take hold. He felt the race of his heart that was faster than anything imaginable as he gripped tight to Garuda and anticipated their final descent.

“Uchiha-sama, I fear—” The summons began, vision locked in the house in the distance that no human sight could perceive.

They were words Sasuke did not wish to hear as much as he wasn’t a man of denial.

 _“So caught up in romance”_ Orochimaru’s words worked to poison his mind. Poison it as much as the curse seal would have if he hadn’t overcome it with sheer determination and willpower. One fuelled firstly by the thought of not being a disgrace to his mother’s…his father’s even—memory and secondly by his own drive to see the Uchiha name avenged for how world tore it down.

“Just land, Garuda. Land as close to them as you can,” Sasuke whispered, taking deep breaths. In, out, in, out…a continuous mantra as he calmed himself, settled his mind and strengthened his resolve.

_In._

_Out_.

A whoosh of air leaving his lungs as they landed ever so slowly and carefully.

_In._

_Out._

A calmness that could never match the war drums of a heart that threatened to bleed out all that he was all that he is and all that he would be.

_In._

_Out._

They landed and before he knew it he had touched ground. Racing through thick foliage that scratched and clawed at his skin. Left trails of crimson red for how little he cared. Orochimaru was both wrong and right with his assessment with his would be romance with Harry. Those beseeching green eyes stared at him in his memory. Filled with pain and understanding, with love as he let him and told him without hesitation to leave him behind for there was someone out there more important to him than Harry could ever be.

True, yet so wrong like Orochimaru was.

This failure was all on him and had nothing to do with the emotions he felt for Harry.  In truth the romance as Orochimaru put wit was but a distraction, but not a terrible one. There was no blame to be had for the story their emotions began to weave and the ending it hoped to achieve.

_In._

_Out._

He could hear his own breath in his ear. Panting breath and an anxiety that swelled in his chest that spoke of dread and false hope mixed in a strange concoction that should leave him suffocating under their weight.

Hope…

Hope…

He broke through the forest, the little house in sight, nothing seemed out of place for the plume of smoke that rose from the back a marking of a flame being lit to warm the cold morning air.

Hope…

Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat composing himself as he approached a simple white door, hand raised to knock as his heart started dancing to the beat of war drums yet again.

 _“It’s Saijun isn’t it? Then you have to go! There is no question about it. I don’t need your help any longer. I can get by on my own, your son needs you!”_  Harry a soothing voice that would hope to calm the fear he held inside, the fear he would show no one for it was both a weakness and his greatest strength.

Hope…

He pushed the door open, noting the nick marks in stone walls, the stain of blood that wasn’t quite cleaned, the acrid smell of disinfectant and iron and the unmistakable burn of residual chakra the air.

Chakra that whispered Konoha, Orochimaru, whispered Kumo and whispered Iwa. Whispered war that was on the horizon—no a war that was already here.

A war he had been strangely blind to.

“Sa—Sasuke-sama,” Haya, her eyes were bloodshot, her lips bruised where she bit into the skin. Her hands trembled as she held a blood-soaked cloth to the solid stone walls, he diluted liquid running down her arms. Her legs were folded under her like a doe whose legs had been broken.

“Sas—Sasuke-sama,” Her voice broke and fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. She could not look him in the eye, her hands falling listlessly at her side, turning over a bucket of water tainted with blood.

“I can’t see anything! I can’t. My gift—I tried to find him—I tried to f _ind_  him, but my gift cannot find the dead! Saijun!” Haya broke down, crumbling into herself as Sasuke silently walked pass her.

Walked towards the man that now barred his way. Prevented him from entering the room where his son should be,  _would_  be!

“Brother, you mustn’t—” Itachi began softly, hands raised before him as if that would be enough to stop his brother from entering the room. A brother who he had not seen for years and was taller than him for how much he had towered over the younger Uchiha in their past.

“Get out of my way,” Sasuke’s voice wasn’t so much a whisper as it was an ominous hiss that spoke to the turmoil within. A darkness and anger that marked him monster before the eyes of the Elemental Nation who could not hope to understand an Uchiha who felt too much and felt too deep.

“Sas—” Itachi anticipated it. The sudden draw of Sasuke’s blade, the shadow of madness behind his brother’s eyes locked on his form, marking the enemy to be destroyed.  He barely blocked the blade with his own, pushing back only to be flung against stone walls that crumbled under the force. He wheezed at the impact, wincing as he stood to stop Sasuke but his brother had long since entered Saijun’s room.

Kisame stepped aside without protest, watching as the younger Uchiha slowly walked towards that empty crib.

Measured steps, steps that held the weight of the world and even Kisame as fierce as he was and most uncaring could not breathe.

Sasuke stood before that crib, hands gripping the lone blanket left behind, stained with blood, the blood of his child. He held it to his chest, even as his hand shook just the slightest and Haya bawled behind him.

He held it tight as he heard his hated brother move to stand behind him, followed by his companion who held him back, advised him to keep his mouth shut and say nothing.

_“It’s Saijun isn’t it? Then you have to go! There is no question about it. I don’t need your help any longer. I can get by on my own, your son needs you!”_

Sasuke’s grip grew unimaginably tight, tight enough that the soft cotton ripped where his fingers were buried.

_“—your son needs you!”_

“How long...”  All three onlookers shuddered at his voice. There was something there that only one out of the three of them could understand. Something only a true Uchiha could understand, even if they had abandoned all their family values and betrayed it for the will of one village.

“Three days. I’ve sent out feelers, there is no sign of your son, but I know definitely who took him and why,” Kisame muttered, frowning as he held back Itachi.

The man could not be so stupid. He moved as if the comfort Sasuke, a laughable action considering it was Itachi who slaughtered their family. He could bet that Sasuke’s hand was only staid at that very moment because he was lost in the abyss that was the consuming guilt of failure.

Failure to protect his son, someone with how Sasuke was reacting was most precious. Precious than his own life even.

Sasuke said nothing, fighting the tremors that would rock his body, the voices that screamed inside his head and the storm that wished to break free.

His nail dug through soft cotton to pierce his own flesh, his blood staining already blood-stained cotton.

Dad-dup

Da-dup

His heartbeat echoed in his ear along with the rush of blood and rage that simmered suddenly burst forth like a volcano left dormant for much too long.

“Kumo, Iwa to fight Konoha again the Uchiha must suffer for this shinobi system. My son—” Itachi never thought it possible. From all the stories he had heard of his emotionless brother. The persona he helped to cultivate so the man would kill him in the end and free him of his sins against their family.

He never thought that Sasuke’s vice could waver as it did when he said, my son. That he would visibly tremble and that even as his vessel was filled with rage he could show raw pain for a failure that was not his blame to bear.

He almost reached out, emotion swelling in his chest and more than enough to choke him where he stood. He would have reached out, but knew he had no right to do so. Had no right to feel Sasuke’s pain as if there were still brothers, brother’s they were no longer he realized.

It shook him to his core and if it was not for his hard-trained composure he would have crumbled into himself like the woman behind him. The woman who wet that the dead could not be seen. The woman who wept for someone named Harry for him to hear here, for him to help.

“They will die. They will all die,” a shuddering breath, his dark eyes burning with the tears that seemed impossible to fall. An accusation and condemnation as the Sharingan glowed fierce, morphing into to the terrifying Mangekyo Sharingan and a heavy weight settling in his chest.

_In._

_Out._

_In._

_Out._

A mantra that meant nothing and everything in the same breath.

“Every last one of them,” a promise. A declaration for the near future to come on shaking breath and dry tears that burned worse than one would think the pits of hell could burn.

Hope…

Hope was for fools.

Mercy was for those with too kind a heart. Lucky for him too kind a heart he did not have.

* * *

Tsunade rubbed her hands together to ward off the cold of the night as she and her party entered through the gates of the Capitol. Home to the Daimyo’s court. Jiraiya was strangely silent at her side, tall and imposing the perfect guard where she was surrounded by vipers that would sooner poison her in her sleep. She glanced to the right where her so-called council walked, heads held high as if they had nothing to fear, nothing to be ashamed of.

Homura, Koharu and final Danzo. People who had a part in the Uchiha massacre some merely accomplices by association others the direct perpetrator.

Brown eyes levelled Danzo with a look of displeasure. Tsunade felt sick that this man for all his brilliance and contribution to the success of their village was ever a part of it. A deceitful man after his own goals and visions as opposed to the benevolent elder he so easily portrayed him as.

She knew of his dark secrets, knew of the ROOT organization that still existed in the shadows. She knew that in truth as much as she would stand as the one in control of her village, Danzo with his political clout and the love of the villagers held just as much power as her.

Enough to turn the tides in his favour before the Daimyo and see her reign come to an abrupt end.

Nothing good would come of this night, and the shiver that ran down her spine had nothing to do with the freezing touch of the night air at her back.

“Tsunade, what do you expect will happen tonight?” The Hokage frowned as she contemplated Jiraiya’s words, careful as she continued to watch the elders to their right and the shadows that moved above them in the city walls.

The Capitol was truly something to behold, even in the night where their path was merely lit with torches that smelt heavily of kerosene and Samurai, the higher class of warriors so many would say watched them through shrewd untrusting eyes.

A city that stretched on for miles with oddly cobbled walkways, and towering building. The people if they were out at such a time would be dressed in finery, not as fine as the Daimyo and his court, but would wear the wealth of their city with pride.  Samurai, as powerful as any ninja if not more would patrol the city with purpose, their loyalty ever unwavering for the Daimyo who ruled over them.

“Tsunade?” Jiraiya was obviously worried, going as far as to gently grasp the crook of her arm, an action that gained the curious attention of their party.

“I expect that Danzo will talk his way out of this mess as he always does when we put him up for trial. He, unfortunately, has the fire Daimyo wrapped around his fingers and the Uchiha massacre will be buried once more,” Tsunade's lips were set in a grim line when she caught the eyes of Danzo who looked away with the smallest of smirks.

He knew already that she would put him up for trial. He also knew that with his alliance with the Daimyo he would come out of their situation unscathed.

“And is that alright? For the truth of that night to remain buried and Konoha... does not pay for her sins?” Jiraiya looked as if he had swallowed something bitter though he stood tall and unwavering.

“Saritobi-sensei would then ask you what sins, Jiraiya,”

“And what would  _you_  ask me, Tsunade?” Jiraiya watched as the woman turned the question over in her head. Weighing the path she had fallen into when Naruto had brought her fighting and kicking to lead Konoha Village, a path she had taken when she found out the truth of the Uchiha Massacre and kept quiet. A path that led her to think of only Konoha and her people than one single family.

A path that would have her hunt a baby and its father with hope to integrate the child into Konoha for his powers and to destroy his father for being too much of a risk like Itachi was the longer he remained alive.

“They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then what says the road to heaven?” He did not get to answer because at that very moment they were greeted by the Daimyo’s guard.

“The Daimyo awaits, I trust you understand should any of you act against the Daimyo—”

“We are aware of protocol boy. Far more knowledgeable than you, a child barely weaned from his mother’s breast.” Danzo glared, voice gruff as he moved to stand ever so slightly before Tsunade. He was already establishing himself as the seat of power.

A careless and juvenile manoeuvre Tsunade thought, for a man who laid claim to the title of a brilliant war strategist and shrewd politician.

Or perhaps he was that confident with his influence over the Daimyo that to hide his hand proved more a hassle than an advantage. Danzo, unfortunately, could be as unpredictable as Naruto on the best of days.

Unfortunately.

The guard said nothing, no mere boy like Danzo had all but declared. He was a man of 40 years who earned his post as any other, his family serving under the Daimyo and the many Daimyo’s who came before.

“Be that as it may, I give fair warning,”

“And fair warning is heard,” Tsunade intervened, allowing the disapproving glares from her elder counsel to fall off her shoulders as if a mere trickle of water.

Nothing more was said as the rest of guard moved said and large double doors were open with a simple push.

The hinges creaked and the sound echoed in their ears along with the cold touch of wind at their backs. It was time for Konoha to answer for her crimes as so seen by a Daimyo under the control of Danzo Shimura, the war hawk with too many fingers dipped into too many pots.

* * *

The Daimyo’s daughter took her seat with much grace, head held high as she greeted the members of her father’s court stiffly, and sharing carefully veiled looks with her well-earned allies ignoring the ugly glares of court ladies who turned their noses up as if to spite her.

She did not care the day she was grudgingly introduced to court and she did not care now. The lives they lived and praised was not for her and would never be for her.

She was not the Daimyo’s daughter by blood, neither was she of the noble class but rather the come. Worse of all was her connections to what many considered the lesser class of warrior, ninjas.

She could already tell what the outcome of the meeting would be. The truth proved bitter on her tongue and left her stomach churning as she looked at the man who called himself the living embodiment of the will of fire that not only fuelled the village hidden the leaves but the entire land of fire.

He was as weak in disposition as he was weak in mind. He sat slouched in his high chair surrounded by his court. Did not wear his tremendous weight with pride, instead, he fed into the stereotype as he gobbled down his wine. Crude. That’s how she would describe him as thin red wine spilt from his mouth into his double chin and further into the rolls of his neck.

He hacked and coughed, twisting in his seat as he grabbed slices of smoked pork between his fingers and push them between thick lips. Of course, the grease trailed down his arms to stain his fine robes, the man uncaring that within moments he was expected to put Konoha on trial as it related to the Uchiha’s long-time fate.

Uchiha, the clan who were their allies before Konoha had ever been a concept, a clan that fell out of favour when Konoha proved Madara Uchiha to be a mad vindictive man that sought to destroy not only the village but the Capitol.

The Daimyo must have sensed her gaze because he soon turned her way, flashing her the smallest of smiles, though the constant fear and anger he felt towards her lingered so plainly in his eyes. In a sense, she could understand his fear and anger, or even his weariness of her. She, after all, gained the support of many powerful players in the Daimyo’s court and proved formidable in the political arena. Pair that with her skill as a shinobi passed down by her mother and her growing knowledge of the healing arts…she could prove great competition should the court find the Daimyo wanting.

“Karin, dear, are you sure that your time wouldn’t be well spent in the healers quarters. If I’m right, shouldn’t they be undertaking quite a unique and difficult venture? A project you shouldn’t miss for a silly meeting that will end quite quickly.” The Daimyo’s voice was equal parts sickly sweet and oily, condescending as he looked at her through sparse lashes.

The court, of course, murmured in interest, court ladies giggling behind their fans as latched onto the arms of the court men who would grant favours for their attention.

“Silly meeting? You would claim the deceit and betrayal, sorry,  _alleged_  betrayal of the Capitol’s trust a silly matter? Even then this meeting would never be if not for my influence, you would bar me from the politics of my own making?” Karin’s smile was all teeth, her glasses glinting in the low lights of the atrium.

“What do you care, Uzumaki? The Daimyo’s is right, this is a silly matter easily dismissed. We all know the Uchiha are far better off dead, who cares if they were eliminated due to Konoha’s manipulation!” One lady of the court was bold enough to speak, not caring that she had overstepped her bounds and disrespected the Daimyo for daring to claim to know his thoughts.

Such disrespect, Karin thought, the bitter taste in her mouth retiring. The Daimyo's court was truly gone to the dogs, and it was solely because of her dear step-father.

Weak spine and mind that he had.

Sometimes she found it hard not to curse her mother for daring to hold this man to his depth and force him to take her into his household.

“Besides you speak of betrayal yet whispers speak of your dalliances with Sasuke Uchiha, a murderer and traitor to the state!” The woman continued, smug when she was met by low approvals of some elder men and fellow court ladies.

Karin couldn’t help the laughter that escaped her lips, straighten her glasses before relaxing fully in her seat.

“Here speaks the Daimyo of the court, my fellow colleagues!” Karin laughed, her red hair flowing her shoulders like the fresh blood that soiled from her enemies bodies. Her smile was shark-like when she finally looked the woman in her eyes, enjoying how quickly the woman paled in fright.

“How eloquent, how composed, how knowledgeable. Oh exalted Daimyo, I wonder what the court would think about your  _dalliances_  in the cow in south quarter. Citizens have it that the bovine squealed mighty loud that one night and in the presence of your mistress’s husband too.”

“That’s enough!” The Daimyo shouted, glaring at his daughter and willing her to submit. Karin only gave a sly smile, graciously bowing her head in the most mocking of apologies.

“ _Apologies_ , Daimyo,” The Daimyo would have railed at the disrespect if the doors of the atrium didn’t suddenly open. The court watched silently, all sobering up from the cockfight that the court had become in just a moment when the Konoha party came in sight.

Karin looked discreetly towards her allies, some shaking their heads in the negative. A clear sign to take the meeting easy, and to not protest what would undoubtedly work in Konoha’s favour.

Yes, because it was no secret that rather that over the years the Capitol had lost a significant amount of their power as it concerned Konoha. No thanks to her father who was so easily bribed by the war hawk known as Danzo.

Karin barely held back the rush of anger as she watched the man saunter into court head held high, the rest of the elder council behind him.

There was some truth to the court lady’s accusation. She knew Sasuke Uchiha, was in his presence many times over the years and had come to respect his vision. A man who was a victim and product of the corrupt system of the shinobi faction. The man spoke of a future where the shinobi faction would be torn away from its foundation and built anew…or rather rebuilt in the image of old where ninja villages were protectorates to their given capitols. Protectorates because for all purposes they acted like countries within their elemental lands.

In those days, what happened to the Uchiha in the leaf, what happened to the Kekkei Genkai users of the mist could never happen. Not with a competent court to oversee them. Not with a military force that was far greater than any shinobi faction.

Not with the true will of fire and ingrained honour that ran through the veins of every Capitol. Whether it be the Wind, Mist, Sand, Iron or Fire.

“Welcome, Konohagakure, to the Capitol! You are hereby called to answer for your actions against the Uchiha Clan! What be your defence?” Karin was jarred out of her muse when her father’s voice echoed throughout the room. She straightened her back and stared at the party, her eyes lingering on Tsunade Senju, a formidable woman in both politics and war.

A pity that she allowed her back to bow even the slightest to the rule of a village corrupt as any other. She would have been one of her greatest allies Karin thought--if she could procure her favour. There was so much to learn from the woman, a genius of healing arts and truly gifted with a drive not many could match.

A gem left to lose its lustre and become like any other in existence.

“Daimyo-sama, we claim no ignorance to that day. Konoha admits that she without mercy did eliminate the Uchiha Clan. Konoha admits that it was for a just cause,” Tsunade began. Her back was straight and her shoulders squared as she stared down the Daimyo’s court.

She was not afraid. When she looked before her, she realized the Daimyo court was not as it was when she was a child.  This group was weak and its leader even weaker. They had no business in Shinobi politics!

Or so she thought until her eyes met the fierce red eyes of a young woman. The one called Karin Uzumaki. The one who had to her back a group of men and women, young and old with equal fire and might in their eyes.

Discord in the court, Tsunade realized. Discord that made her nervous for the faith of Konoha in truth, for it seemed it was not the Daimyo who was twisted around Danzo’s fingers that was in power.

Not in truth

She wondered, glancing at Danzo who was confident in his stance, already assured that Konoha would leave the court unscathed for his action if he even noticed or cared about the power play so obvious in sight.

Koharu and Homura were noticeably nervous. Twisting their hands in their gowns and shooting Tsunade veiled looks. As if the warm her to tread lightly.

“Be that as it may, Konoha wonders why she had been brought Daimyo court. The Uchiha have been denounced from the Capitol. The alliance they once shared with the noble family of the court is no more and legislation has moved Konoha to be more independent than she has ever been from the Capitol.” Tsunade frowned before folding her arms, eyes narrowed as she dared the Daimyo to find her argument lacking.

The man sat sweating in his seat, obviously bored with the proceedings or uninterested. It begs to question why he would have bothered to call them.

Something… was not right. Her eyes flickered to Karin Uzumaki who watched Tsunade with unreadable eyes. So different from another Uzumaki she knew.

“Our dear leader raises a valid point, what business is the Uchiha’s end when your father, let his soul find eternal peace, cut all ties in light of Madara’s madness. There are no political ties to warrant your attention, ladies and men of the court.” Danzo continued smoothly, taking his place beside Tsunade as if to say he was an extension of her power. Or perhaps that it was Tsunade who was an extension of his power and it was truly he who ruled Konoha from the shadows.

A false sentiment, but one that truly enraged Tsunade.

The Daimyo curled into himself, eyes flickering to his court as if to ask them what he should do next. There was no help to be had as they all watched him with judging eyes.

His sight then fell on his daughter.

She was the one who insisted they call Konoha to court when they had mysteriously received a letter detailing Konoha’s involvement in the Uchiha massacre. Revealed truths, that if came to light, would reflect badly on his reign.

The Uchiha were no longer connected to them politically…but there was still some connection. What many did not know, yet Danzo did, was that his late father had written that the Uchiha should be offered some form of protection still.

The Uchiha were still the Daimyo’s responsibility in a sense. A decision to massacre the entire family should have passed through their court first.

“The year before my father’s death, there was an agreement one that you are well aware of Danzo Shimura. The Uchiha clan still has the protection of the Daimyo’s court. Any decision involving their faith should have passed through the Daimyo first before you acted. So again, what say you Konoha, what is your defence?” Karin’s voice carried strong and clear across the room, murmurs of the court growing louder than ever as Danzo locked his gaze with hers.

He was suspicious. Karin all but crooned inside. She knew this trial would bear no fruit. The Daimyo would bend to Konoha’s will but in the end…she did not need this trial to bear fruit.

* * *

Pained screams pierced through the night, sailing on the cold wind as trees bowed their heads in fear and swayed ever so cautiously. Mourning for the life lost this night.

Two of only three remaining Jinchuriki in existence could do nothing but writhe in pain as their very souls that held their beasts captive was ripped from their bodies to feed the very statue that ensure Kumo and Iwa’s reign over the elemental nations.

The Capitols will fall, the hidden villages would crumble and Kumo and Iwa as one would form the new order. They would reign supreme, the Elemental Nations would never be the same again.

Betrayal.

Like a hot knife that cut piece by piece the tiny strings that held fragile loyalty together, the Jinchuriki screamed to the skies. Screamed to the heavens as their foundations were shaken and their Kage watched them with cold steel eyes. No mercy.

None…

For mercy was but a child’s dream.

One last pained filled scream, both Jinchuriki once loyal to their village witnesses their own murder painted as a sacrifice. They both heard their very last breath until there was nothing more, and the Gedo Mazo glowed a magnificent white. Purity at its finest.

The irony.

“It is done,”  **A** grinned, watching as their prized statue glowed with new found power. Soon they could unleash the beast on those who would stand against them. If not for the fact he would look a fool,  **A**  would have danced on spot. The anticipation and hope too much to contain.

“Not quite, we still need two pairs of Sharingan eyes to fully power the statue. With them, we will be unstoppable.” Onoki took a drag of his pipe, all but sighing in relief when heat flooded through his old creaking bones.

“One you mean,” before Onoki could answer the wails of a child desperately calling for To and Chi became almost deafening. Onoki grunted in discomfort as he looked over his shoulders to see his finest medical Shinobi tirelessly working to bring forth their Kage’s wishes.

They would forcefully activate the Sharingan in the small child. No matter if he would feel excruciating pain, a pain more than obvious as he screamed and thrashed about in their hold. His eyes swollen and tiny mouth open as wide as it could go.

If it were another moment in time, the Tsuchikage would have felt shame for his actions. For basically torturing a child could be no more than 2 years if he was even that! They didn’t even know his name, content to call him the Uchiha brat as they poked and prodded his small form.

The child released a gurgling wail, one that tore something in his shrivelled heart and caused him to grip his pipe like a lifeline.

The ends justified the means. It was what he had to tell himself as the boy’s cries grew louder by the second and his medic nin’s anger rising just the same.

“To! Tochan!”

“ _Tochan_!” His first full word. A word that would fall on deaf ears for how tears spilt down his soft cheeks. Tears that would soon turn to blood as another attempt was made to force the manifestation of the Sharingan.

Onoki looked away. Yes, the end justified the means. What was the pain and life of one young child in comparison to the thousands who would flourish under their new regime?

“Yes, Sasuke Uchiha’s eyes. He must know by now that someone has taken his son. He may assume Konoha and attack them, an action that will work in our favour as this very night we will wage war on Konoha forces. After all, how will they prepare when the head of state and her elders are unknowingly trapped within the walls of the Daimyo’s court for such important event?” Almost in response to his words, thunder rumbled overhead, the sound of rain approaching louder than ever and drowning out the Uchiha child’s exhausted voice.

“Or he will know that it is us. He is a man of many resources, as soon as we are on route to Konoha, he will know and at any rate, he will come after us, delivering the second pair of Sharingan in our hands.”

“I hear the child will go blind if we continue this path.”  **A** didn’t sound remorseful, even if he too turned his back to not see the actions of their men. Content to stare at the Gedo Mazo that still pulsed a brilliant white.

“Blind or not, it doesn’t matter. By the end of this, he will be dead as will his father—” The child’s wail suddenly stopped. An abrupt end as his medic nins muttered excitedly. He turned quickly and was met with the head of medics holding the child before him. His eyes were wide open, frozen and burning a brilliant scarlet with spinning tomos.

The Sharingan brought to life and the child as still as death.

“Is it—”

“It is done, Onoki-sama. We are ready!” The medic grinned, proud of his accomplishment as he held the catatonic Uchiha child as if he was a trophy.

Both Onoki and  **A**  dismissed the strange weight that settled on their chest when they realized how shallow the boy’s breath was. His tiny chest struggling to rise as his mind was lost to an abyss none of them would follow.

“Will he live long enough to power the Gedo Mazo?” It was  **A**  who asked, not realizing he stepped forward just the slightest, almost as if he wished to take the child from the medic and—

And do what?

“Just long enough. The state he’s in…it’ll only get worse once we put him inside the Gedo Mazo. Unfortunately, his eyes are not mature enough to extract and place inside the statue by itself. His whole body will have to be used to channel the Sharingan powers.” It wasn’t news to the Kage’s and is it was the little detail was not enough to stop their final order for the boy.

“Do what has to be done,” Onoki began, taking a drag from his pipe before he turned away again, eyes now roaming over the hundreds of Shinobi both of Iwa and Kumo that stood ready for their command.

A thousand more lay in wait near the borders of Konoha, ready to attack once ordered.

“Place the child inside the Gedo Mazo,” Onoki spoke carefully as he ran his finger over the summoning seals painted on the back of his hand. The soft pop of his falcon summon was muted by the rumble of thunder that was much louder than before and the rain that had finally arrived, beating furiously against rocky land.

“Tell them war drums sound with the stroke of midnight. Konoha will be knocked off their throne and made example of when we complete the Gedo Mazo and unleash its might!” The flacon chirped in understanding and just as quickly as it came it was gone to deliver the message that could very decide the fate of the Elemental Nations.

Both Kages watched as the baby was forced inside of the statue, it's hallow stomach that had open up to accept the offering closing around the child and hiding him from sight.

He was to remain in a catatonic state as the Gedo Mazo fed on the power of his Sharingan and awaited another pair to stabilize it.

Yes, war had finally come and this day and days after that will see a new Nation rise from the bloodshed and sacrifices of many a people.

* * *

Draco’s breath was shallow. Shuddering breaths as he wrapped his arms around him to ward off the cold that seeped into his skin. He sat there in Gryffindor’s quarters for days he thought. Days in darkness as he hoped that soon the Sceptre would return Harry to them.

Return the war hero to complete his duty and free the wizarding world from Voldemort’s tyranny.

Already he heard whispers from behind the seal doors of the chambers that even more of the Order had been killed. Molly still fought with all she had. She kept the rebellion alive with a fierceness not even Harry Potter could match, killing Bellatrix Lestrange. It did not matter that the woman had been weakened by the forceful abortion of Voldemort’s heir by said man’s very hand. Moly was a warrior that would not waver, but she had lost two more sons. Fred by the hand of Fenrir Greyback and Percy by the hands of Walden Macnair.

Mad-eye Moody met his end, screaming to the heavens. Thirty, it took thirty of Voldemort finest to bring him down. Those Dirty died themselves.

McGonagall guarded the chamber doors, not moving an inch herself, protecting Draco as he waited for some sign that this all was not in vain!

A sudden fire flickered in the centre of the room. Growing steadily, humming with so much power that the hairs on his skin stood on end! Almost blue lips trembled and his heart raced with renewed hope that this would be it! Harry Potter would return to them! Harry Potter would end this war that still raged even with Voldemort as Wizarding Britain’s supreme ruler!

“Come on, Scarhead!  _Come on!_ ” Draco shouted. Anxiety clear for how his voice shook, eyes never leaving that flickering flame that slowly but surely began to form something resembling closely the destroyed veil. It was almost too much to fathom. Even when the amulet, Hermione had left in his care spazzed and flickered with the trio’s magical signature. Singing with praise and excitement!

“That’s it! Come on, you’re right there, I know you’re right there!” Draco didn’t even realise that the temperature had dropped rapidly, his breath misting over.

“Draco is everything alright in there?!” McGonagall rapped frantically on the seal chamber doors.

“Draco—!”

“It’s them! It’s them, Professor!” Draco stood quickly almost stumbling over his numb feet and tripping over his worn robes. His breath was held, chest tight for who could possibly manage to breed when it seemed Merlin had answered their pleas. He didn’t even care to listen to McGonagall’s shocked answer or her quick footsteps that signified that she would gather what little remained of the Order to Gryffindor’s chambers

He didn’t care! He knew, he knew that within moments Harry Potter would walk through that fire and with him Hermione.

* * *

This is amazing!” Hermione gasped in wonder, eyes wide as she took in the mountain upon mountains of books in the ritual room of Gryffindor temple. Scrolls and aged papers were strewn about the room, tables covered in dust and cobwebs, each holding a candle that had melted half way.

Hermione could imagine the room being like a study connected to a grand library. Many from the Gryffindor line would sit and discuss their findings, write down history with the stroke of a thin brush dipped into ink that would smell like modern car grease.

She gently traced her fingers against the spines of books that were all but falling apart. Taking in their bizarre titles that not even her translation spell could translate.

“Harry this is amazing!” Hermione grinned, colour returning to her cheeks in light of her on true love. She spun around only to see Harry watching her with great fondness, the corners of his lips turned up just the slightest, in comparison to the grim expression he had worn as they travelled to find the temple.

Things had moved quite fast when they had arrived. It was like all three of them had come to the agreement that all the tension between them, more specifically Ron and Harry and Hermione and Ron could be left by the wayside for the time being.

They took to scouring through the many rooms of the temple, finding odd artefacts, obvious remnants of the life the Gryffindor line had lived, food still preserved and rice paper that detailed a history the wizarding world would die for. It was truly amazing, but they weren’t there for history, there were there to find that final rune Harry needed to put an end to Voldemort once and for all.

It was the only thing that held Harry’s focus, nothing else, and she respected it and decided to help any way she could. Unfortunately only Harry truly knew what to look for and of course, he could not describe it in a way they would understand.

Frustration built quickly. Ron paced and carded his hands through his hair more times than any of them could count, Harry tapped his fingers against hardwood while glaring at something far from the scopes of reality. A storm approached in the distance with crackling lightning and soft murmurs for thunder. They snipped at each other, arguments on the tips of their tongues until…until Harry suddenly found the elusive rune that held the Wizarding World’s fate in its delicate design.

She remembered how he hesitantly walked towards a nondescript book. Trailing elegant fingers down the spine like she did now, fingers stopping at the oddest design Hermione had ever seen.

It didn’t look like a normal rune. It more resembled a complicated Celtic knot than anything else.

“—mione. Hermione!” Harry couldn’t help the snort that left his lips when his Hermione visibly startled. Ron couldn’t help himself either the way his laughter filled the room and the gloom lifted even for just a second. Hermione, of course, flushed the brightest if reds. Spacing out was usually Harry’s thing not her, but could they really blame her.

“I’m ready, a bit lost there aren’t you?” Harry couldn’t help but tease her, walking past her to stand in the centre if the room. Honestly, he felt suddenly nervous. Right now at this given moment, he would create another veil to return the Wizarding World. He swallowed tightly when he looked about him, books judging him as if they knew the weight of the responsibility that he held. AS if they knew he would, in but a few minute, charge head first into war.

Sasuke flashed across his mind and he physically had to shake his head to dispel the image. Did Sasuke find Saijun, were they safe…was Haya ok and—

Harry bit his lips, glaring at his hands before he pulled the eaglet that was tucked into his breast pocket. His expression instantly softening as he gently ruffled the baby bird’s feathers, smiling ever so slightly when the eaglet chirped and crooned.

His heart was heavy. He could see a life with Sasuke, he thinks he could. Sasuke would be insufferable at times he wagered, getting on his last nerves, then so sweet in the next breath. He could imagine himself curled around Sasuke or Sasuke curled around him, sharing warmth as the sun finally rose from its slumber and a steaming cup of tea stood on their night table.

He saw Saijun, a little more grown, running circles around them and grinning up at them with a missing tooth or two. Haya, he saw her being pleased with the outcome of their lives.

Peace and love…and passion, when he thought about his stilled breath and how Sasuke pressed into him. Hot and forever burning. Felt his body cover his and his fingers dig into a muscled back. Felt how Sasuke assured him he cared and how he assured Sasuke he felt the same when he carded his hands through the man’s dark hair and stifled his love between red bitten lips.

“Harry?” Ron began hesitantly, stepping forward only to stop when his friend suddenly turned, holding out the eagle as if willing the redhead to take her.

“I—I won’t be needing her. I tried multiple times to get her to dispel but she won’t—there’s an abandoned nest in the southern library. I packed it with warm clothes and—just put her there till she dispels herself,” Harry’s voice was soft as he watched Ron gently cradle the bird in his larger hands. The eaglet protested, small honey eyes pleading with Harry, but he would have none of it.

He couldn’t.

“Har—” Hermione protested only to trail off when Ron shook his head softly. Right, they had agreed they wouldn’t do this. There was enough discussion about what Harry should or shouldn’t do from the two of them.

“I’ll start the rune circle, by the time you come back, a new veil should be created and ready to be used.” Harry steeled himself, turning away from his friends as he assessed the centre of the room he stood. Already the knowledge of his ancestors, of Godric Gryffindor painted images and instructions in his mind. Their deathly whispers guiding his every move with the echoes of Tu velim Mortem telling a story of old.

* * *

Maybe it was the heat that was getting to him, the unimaginable heat that shouldn’t exist because outside a storm waged and the wind took out its wrath on an old creaking window.

The three candles Hermione had previously lit were the only source of light in the room, the only source of heat, yet Harry felt as if he was being burned alive. He wiped the beads of sweat that formed on his forehead as he deftly went through the motions of carving precise runes into a runic circle. The run of life, the rune of death, the rune of beginning, the rune of the end. For each rune, the image on tarot cards Luna had in her first year popped up in his head. Muggle items that weren’t so muggle.

She had divined many happenings as it related to his life, or perhaps Luna just simply had the gift of sight.

“The rune of creation, the rune of destruction. The rune of the present—”

“What is the meaning of Tu velim mortem?” Harry froze only for a fraction of a second as he continued to mutter the names of the runes he must carve to create a new veil. Godric seemed to love appearing at the oddest of times, the sceptre circling him, ghostly robes pulling along the smooth stone floor.

His tilted this way and that as he watched with concealed pride the runes come to life, glowing a brilliant gold that shimmered in the low lighting.

Harry, he was made for this. So focused, his bottom lip tucked underneath his white teeth and elegant hands drawing perfect lines without so much of a waiver. Not even his hair that had grown longer and fell from behind his ears could distract him. Green eyes taking in every little detail and weaving the Gryffindor magic like an old friend.

Godric could hear mother magic’s pleased croons, could practically see the god draped over Harry’s strong shoulders as she caressed his cheek and infused him with her power. Finally able to connect with one of her children after countless aeons where she was left to die upon the final Gryffindor’s departure.

“—the rune of the past. The—”

“What is the meaning, Harry Potter?” Godric’s demand came as soon as the rune circle was complete and a wave of magic crashed into both their forms. Books fell from the shelves, any window that was closed flew open further exposing them to the rage of the storm outside and any candle lit was extinguished as if a flame had never existed.

Wind, furious wind whipped around them, Godric’s red locks snapping like a million whips desperately trying to bring an animal to heel.

“ _Tu velim mortem,”_

_“Tu velim mortem!”_

They could hear ancestors hiss angrily, the rune circle erupting in flames that shot to the roof and began to take shape!

A veil was forming before their very eyes, twisting and lashing out at all around it as it desperately tried to stabilize. Godric released his held breath allowing familiar magic to wash over him. For the veil to work, Harry would have to offer his blood. Command the veil to create a pathway to the world he was unexpectedly but purposefully thrown out of.

“Harry—”

“What do you want, Godric?!” Harry glared, staggering to his feet before he steadied himself. His heart pounded against his chest. Sharp and painful as the gravity of the situation dawned on him. It was done and so quickly too!

He, Hermione and Ron would return to the wizarding world and he would take up the life he had always lived and fight the war he had always fought. He would deny that his legs trembled and his chest pained him more than ever in that moment. The rune that would end it all proved a proverbial heavyweight in his mind.

“You’re different. You’re not the same man that you were when I met you. You, Harry Potter seem defeated.” Godric frowned disgust clear in his eyes, what wasn’t so much clear was the shame he felt. For didn’t he help Harry Potter became this shell of himself.

Images of Harry watching Sasuke leave him was vivid to mind, his own toxic words that had shaken Harry’s core and instead lead the man to deny his love for the Uchiha.

All for duty. His love would be ashamed of him.

“I’m doing my part! I’m going to fight your stupid war and I’m going to kill Voldemort even if by using this rune I may very well die myself!” Harry hissed, green eyes blazing. He flinched when Hermione gasped, she and Ron standing at the door horrified. The baby eagle still in Ron’s hold.

He hadn’t told them that tidbit.

Call, it selflessness, or selfishness, but he didn’t want them to know that by agreeing to cross over to the wizarding world and if he used the rune he had found, he was practically signing his own death sentence.

“Harry, No you can’t—” Hermione whispered, tears brimming in the corner of her eyes to fall down her cheeks. She trembled and made to move forward but stopped when Harry looked away from her.

“My war?” Godric didn’t even have it in himself to mock the last of his line. He looked at him and saw a man who had no closure. A man who was not truly caving to his plight in life but rather dismissed the possibility that he deserved freedom and happiness as much as the Wizards back in Britain.

The forming veil sounded loud to their ears as fire spiralled into a pillar, slowly forming an archway that would only need Harry’s blood to complete the process.

“What does it even ma—” Harry was quick to put an end this conversation but didn’t get far when Godric opened his mouth again and woke a fear he himself didn’t realize he had.

“He’ll die. Your Uchiha, he’s at war with the figures of this nation, justifiably so I would even admit. The thing about being a sceptre is sometimes you see the possibilities of a future you can no longer be a part of flash before your eyes.” Faced with intense emotions in Harry’s eyes, he  _had_  to look away.

He was dead and didn’t much care for the living yet he felt judged in that one stare. Damming him to hell and back without saying a word.

“His son will be the trigger, trapped inside a statue that will come alive, become a beast that will destroy the Elemental Nations as we know it. Saijun his name was, he’ll die when the man known as  **A**  activates the statue before time. Before he can get the second pair of eyes.”

_“I wondered if your heart would bleed for me too. If only for a brief second as I think that in the end, I do not want to die. That I want to achieve my goals and still live, with the name of the Uchiha carve into my back and my son happy with me in the new world I would build him.”_

Sasuke’s word’s cut like a knife. He imagined the chaos that would be unleashed if Saijun, sweet Saijun died. Harry almost grasped his chest as if the ward off the physical hurt he was feeling at the thought, the sickness in his stomach and the fear that made the perfect cocktail with anxiety.

_“There is this thing about Uchihas you see, Harry. We love too much, we love too fast and we love to hard.”_

The Curse of Hatred, he had seen it in Sasuke’s mind. He knew what it could do and what Sasuke could become if he was seduced by its call. He had barely managed to save himself from falling into that bottomless pit as he sought power to become stronger and avenge his clan.

“I was wrong. I said to you then when you let your heart go that you would be a distraction to him. Call it the famed Gryffindor nobleness but I can’t allow you to cross over into the wizarding world before saving your love from destruction.” There was a fierceness about Godric that spoke to a warrior that was. A warrior the likes of which many had never seen.

Ron swallowed tightly as he watched the scene play out before him. Harry, conflicted as he stared at his ancestor. Godric an unmovable force that willed Harry to listen to him.

Hermione who stood beside him, her fingers digging into his arm as she fought to keep her sobs in.  He could not grudge her that comfort, could not tell her to let him go even though she was hurting him. The truth was that he too wished to bawl, felt the ball of emotion lodge in his throat knowing that Harry when he crossed over and used the rune he found, was practically signing away his life.

He couldn’t be ok with that! And maybe it was dumb of him because it’s what he practically ordered Harry to do in the first place because facing Voldemort in itself was a death sentence.

“Go to him, Harry! Just go! You have to,” even Ron was surprised by his own outburst, but it did not deter him from his mission. With confident strides and grim resolve, Ron stood before Harry and held the eaglet out for him to take.

“I’ve been right ass about this whole thing and can you blame me, it’s my family back there probably suffering, but—I was wrong when I came through that veil with Hermione, Merlin I’ve been wrong the moment I saw you for the first time when we were eleven years old—” Ron trembled with the emotion that wanted to burst free from his chest. Having so much to say and not knowing how.

Wanting to crumble before Harry and cry like the child he still was in a sense when he looked into glistening pools 0f the clearest emeralds. Merlin, why the hell did he ever think that—

“—you’re not the one that should save us! You’re not and you never were—and I’m so fucking sorry that I—” Damn it he was crying! He was crying like a fool as he bared all his sins for all to see. He all but crumbled when Harry ran into his arms, wrapped his thin arms around his back like the first time he had seen him in the Elemental Nations.

He buried his cheek in soft inky hair, barely noting that Hermione had come up to them and enveloped them both in her arms, an odd image as he towered over both of them and was much broader due to his muscle mass.

The Eaglet squawked in protest when Ron’s grip tightened, they pulled away quickly with amused smiles and fresh tears in their eyes.

“You, bloody fool!” Harry sniffled, uncomfortable with his own show of emotion and hardly looking anyone in the eye.

“I definitely deserve that!” Ron’s smile was watery before he held gently placed the chirping eaglet in Harry’s hands. To their surprise the eaglet suddenly turned into a full sized eagle, hopping unto Harry’s arm, gaze very much accusing.

“Master said you should find him! Find him you must!” A clear demand and no room for argument, all in the room could tell that. Harry sighed before looking from Hermione to Ron, then to Godric who had remained silent the entire time.

He wondered about the man’s motivation. Why stop Harry just as he was on the verge of completing his duty?

“Harry? You’re going to—” Hermione began only to stop when Harry’s expression morphed into that stubbornness that had given her more headaches than she could count. Her heart raced at the thought that even now, Harry would deny himself and return to—not to mention what Godric had said!—if Harry used that Rune—

“I’m…I’m going back—I’m going back, but I’ll do this first. I’m going to Sasuke first.” Harry quickly added before either of his friends could interrupt him. They both frowned at the answer, sharing looks before Hermione moved to speak.

“It’s ok you know, you can stay here with him if it’s what you—” She didn’t even finish before Harry was shaking his head, dispelling her argument in one go.

“No! Just, no, Hermione. I appreciate your effort, I appreciate how much you care, but…I don’t think I could live with myself if I was so selfish. I would always be wondering if Voldemort was defeated or if the wizarding world still suffered. I would wonder if you both were still living or if I abandoned you to a horrible faith…” Harry shook his head again, turning away from his friends the face the fire that had finally stabilized into something outwardly.

A doorway that burned like the fire of the most revered phoenix, imbued with Mother magic’s song that only he and Godric heard and Mother Nature’s approval.

The Eagle almost as if anticipating what Harry would do hopped unto his shoulders, freeing Harry to form a sharp blade with his magic to slice open his palm.

Beads formed from the small cut. Bubbling to the surface before Harry allowed the precious crimson drops to fall in the runic circle. The newly formed veil pulsed once then twice before at its centre a familiar whispery matter almost resembling a shroud formed and swayed in the non-existent wind.

“He has completed the veil, if you both walk through, you will be returned to the one who summoned me,” Godric finally spoke, eyes heavy on Harry’s back.

He saw many futures flash before his eyes in a moment and wondered about the images that painted stories in his soul.

“I—” Ron was hesitant. This was it, after all the torture he endured in this land, Hermione being taken away from him, meeting that Uchiha that he still did not like but would accept if only for Harry’s sake…was it ok to just leave, knowing Harry was about to hunt down the Uchiha by himself.

His eyes flickered to Hermione then Godric before landing on Harry whose entire disposition spoke of confidence and strength.

His brother didn’t need him to take care of him. He…he would be ok. Squaring his shoulders, his heart in his stomach and his legs trembling he closed his eyes and stepped inside the veil. The last thing he heard as darkness swept him away and his body plummeting through time and space, was Harry’s soft voice telling him that he would see him on the other side soon.

As Ron was swept away Hermione pinned Harry with a hard glare.

“Don’t even think about it! I’m not going anywhere, and before you say it I know I’m injured and would only slow you down! So that’s why I will wait for you here, I have a thousand books I can read and can very much protect myself still!”

“Alright, Mione, alright!” Harry snorted, holding his hands up in defence when Hermione continued to glare. Daring him to object.

“Bushy hair girl is quite scary, Master’s special one!” The hawk piped up, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. The reminder of Sasuke was truly something sobering.

Harry wondered if he would have what it took to prevent Sasuke from plummeting down the road of madness where there was no return.

“I ask you again, Harry, what is the meaning of Tu velim mortem?” Godric moved to stand beside the last of his line. Harry looked up at his ancestor the knowledge clear in his eyes. He did not say a word, but it was enough.

Hermione looked at the two knowing she would never understand the silent exchange. When the moment was over she enveloped Harry in the tightest of hugs.

“Be safe, Harry, at least do that for me, you clumsy trouble magnet!” Hermione sniffled before composing herself. Wiping at her eyes and straighten her close. She watched as Harry opened his mouth as if to say something more but instead gave the tiniest of smiles, the hawk digging its talons in his shoulder. All three of them, Harry, Godric and the hawk were gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Hermione and the pulsing veil behind.

* * *

They weren’t as silent as they could have been, Itachi thought as their group raced through the trees, swiftly moving through the foliage, their feet beating like drums on the old barks of trees only ever seen in the land of fire. Or better yet, the border of Konoha village.

Their eyes were sharp as they watched Iwa and Kumon nin march towards Konoha, ready to raise hell and spill blood of the innocent to see their villages stand as the supreme rule of the Elemental Nations.

He exchanged looks with Kisame who moved just as swiftly beside him, his Akatsuki cloak billowing in the wind even as rain poured and soaked their forms. Ahead was Sasuke. Moving faster than any of them could hope, no emotion as he pushed himself to arrive at their destination.

Kisame’s feelers revealed that Kumo and Iwa would make their move tonight and that in the meantime his nephew was alive if just barely. He felt the rage build inside of him at thought of them forcing the child to activate his Sharingan. He would know what that felt like.

Danzo, after all, had forced the manifestation of his own Sharingan when he was young, a secret that his parents did not know when they still lived, and a secret he kept when he killed them with his own hands.

He almost stumbled at the thought! Flinching as he was bombarded with images of that night that could only be brought about by his shame and guilt when he stared at Sasuke’s back.

Said brother only glanced at him once, cold eyes boring into Itachi’s form. Closed off to him, a far contrast to the sweet boy who would seek his attention in the good old days.

The days where he didn’t have to choose between his loyalty to his village and the loyalty to his clan at only thirteen years old.

Shame filled him, but it was not the time for it. No, not now when Sasuke had accepted his help in the retrieval of his innocent nephew. The one who would never grow to know who he was if the promise in Sasuke’s eyes said anything.

He increased his pace to better match Sasuke, Kisame doing the same, bloodthirsty grin stretched across his face.

“Who would have thought? Enemies working towards a common goal! Sweet Itachi here didn’t even lose a finger! Has Sasuke Uchiha grown soft then?” Kisame couldn’t help himself, Traveling for days in silence that threatened to bury him alive was no fun!

Back at that little house on the hill things were heating up. After Sasuke’s declaration of revenge, the tension between the two brothers had bubbled over. One minute they were fine, Itachi sitting behind his brother, head bowed, speaking ever so softly—

The next they were a full-on attacking each other. Sasuke gaining the upper hand many times as he expertly wielded his blade and broke through Itachi’s more than sufficient defence.

They bled, Sharingans blazing jutsu he had never seen before unleashed and then the deadly Amaterasu that escaped Itachi’s lips. Hell fir so easily extinguished by the younger Uchiha with but a flick of his blade.

Prove yourself he had demanded of Itachi—

In the end, Sasuke slammed Itachi to the ground, that woman named Haya screaming that Sasuke should stop, that he would need his brother.  Sasuke didn’t seem to listen, blade set to cut Itachi’s head from his body, a fate that said Uchiha willingly accepted the smallest of smiles forming on his lips.

“Good luck, brother. You will make them proud, and you will save your son. Unlike you when you were young, he has someone he can rely on,” Itachi had whispered, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. Raucous coughs shaking his entire body and his skin paling more than ever by a disease Kisame didn’t even know the name of.

Itachi would have felt a weight lift from his shoulders with the knowledge that Sasuke knew the full truth of the massacre. Knew the part he played and the manipulation he allowed to overtake him. The manipulation many would say would mean Itachi was a victim himself.

For a moment it seemed that would be the end of him until suddenly Sasuke had shouted at Haya, asked if she had seen it. Seen where Itachi would be of use. A strange statement but Kisame thought nothing of it.

He held his breath, a storm rapidly approaching from the distance and the surrounding forest deathly silent when Haya nodded her head. Sasuke’s blade was stilled and through gritted teeth, he commanded Itachi to stand.

Told him he would live to see another day it seemed, if only for his son’s sake.

A right soap opera like any other, Kisame grinned, as he looked over at the two.

Sasuke did not rise to his bait, could probably care less about his existence other than how he could be of use to him.

A man after his own heart!

“Onoki and A will follow behind this platoon soon enough.  Their troops will be too occupied with breaking down Konoha’s difference. That cuts their forces in ¾ within Konoha ¼ on the outskirts.” Sasuke muttered when Itachi fell into step with him.

They all moved too fast to be seen easily by the naked eye, the only evidence that they were even there was the rustle of tree leaves and the breaking of tree limbs under the force of their take off.

“If Kisame is right, and from what we’re seeing now, the ¼ on the outskirt will be Onoki and  _A_  and with them—”

“The Gedo Mazo. We’ll cut them off before the ¼ merges with the ¾. Konoha will prove an asset as they fortify their defences and try to prevent an invasion. They will most likely fail being caught unaware and the head of their state absent. This is enough to occupy the ¾ while we make our move,” Itachi finished, rapidly calculating their chances and the pros and cons.

“Right, then we’ll massacre the lot and save little baby Uchiha,” Kisame cooed a bloodthirsty smile on his lips, his strangely sharp teeth terrifying.

Both Uchiha’s glared at him, the man only laughing at the two before speeding past them both.

“What? Too soon?” His laughter echoed through the forest, leaving Sasuke irritated.

“I'll kill every last one of them for ever daring to—” Sasuke clenched his fist, Sharingan manifesting and colouring his vision red for the briefest of moments before his perception became terrifyingly sharp and accurate. He was repeating the declaration he made at the house on top of that hill. Carving it into his soul because he would make it the truth.

“And I will help you even if you don’t truly need it,” Itachi spoke, eyes softening for the briefest of moments. Sasuke ignored how Itachi resembled the Itachi of old. The boy that was his brother, the boy he declared dead and its place an enemy that must be cut down on the night of the massacre.

* * *

“No! You can’t do this! Mercy please, mercy, daughter!”

“Is it the title you want? You can have it! Riches maybe, I can give you more. Please!” The Daimyo of fire screamed as he scrambled along the floor, Karin looming behind him, a blade that she had pulled from her glasses in hand as she stalked her prey.

Her heels clicked softly against the smooth floors, the room silent except for the Daimyo’s panicked breaths and scrambling. The Samurai who should have guarded his chambers strangely absent.

Earlier he had ruled that Konoha was not guilty of betrayal like the spineless man Karin knew he was. It did not matter because with his death she would assume the duties of Daimyo already having the backing of more than half the court and the most important figures.

It was time to usher a new age like so many were already attempting.

“I don’t need your wishes, father. I just need you to die and seeing that you resisted poison which would have been a merciful end for you, I must do it by hand and watch you suffer,” Karin chuckled, her red robes dragging across the floor like the dance of a snake.

An exotic snake.

“Danzo will have your head, little girl! He won’t stand for this, I’m an important—”

“A pawn to his politics you mean, dear father. You are in no way important and besides, how will he act against me when I have sent forces to unearth in ROOT Anbu. How will he harm me when at this very moment he and those elders are being rounded up and will lose head at the guillotine?” Karin couldn’t help the amusement that bled into her voice.

The man pissed himself on spot, back colliding with his bed, the very bed he had taken the girl’s mother against her will. It’s how he had become indebted to the woman. If she spoke of his actions he would have been ruined and so he adopted her daughter.

He screamed and flinched when Karin suddenly grabbed his wobbly chin, her nails digging into his cheeks as she brought her blade forward.

“Look into my eyes as I cut into your delicate flesh. Watch as I take your life from you. I’m not usually cruel, bit for you I can make an exception!” Karin smiled, the man desperately trying to escape as she plunged her slim blade into his throat.

With slow movement she cut from right to left, blood smearing her fingers with one simply shove the man fell backwards grasping at his neck as he bled out. Karin paid him no mind like he paid her mother no mind when he raped her and even if he adopted her as his mother wished, disgraced her to the point she committed suicide.

The door the Daimyo’s chamber creaked open revealing the Samurai that should have guarded the man.

“Daimyo-sama, your orders?” Karin smirked as she wiped her blade on silk bed sheets. She tucked a lock of red hair behind her hair and straightened her glasses before turning to the samurai who had been her long-time friend.

“Suigetsu, inform the court that the Daimyo his dead and I have been declared next in line. Better yet, let them know that I have already assumed my position. Also, tell the general to send a flacon, Sasuke Uchiha will need the help of our forces if my predictions are correct.”

The man smirked, shark-like teeth menacing as he bowed his head. Before he left he looked through silver lashed at the woman who would soon rule The Capitol of fire.

“The other Capitols, they are ok with this? You are aiding in the destruction of their assets. Assets they will need if you and your people manage to reset the political system to what it was before. Shinobi under your rule.” Karin chuckled, stepping over the Daimyo’s body to sit in front of the large vanity in the room.

She took up a beautifully carved comb and carded it through her lustrous red hair. As red as the blood that was cooling on smooth stone floors.

“We have an understanding…and Suigetsu, when she comes…let her in.”

She didn’t have to clarify who she meant.

* * *

Tsunade watched in shock as Danzo and the elders were easily brought down by the Samurai forces! Almost preposterous with the knowledge that they were a part of the elite class of Shinobi so revered across the land. As much as Sarutobi and the Minato Namikaze!

Everything was spinning out of control. Blindsides that’s what they were, blindsided by that Karin Uzumaki, a viper in sheep’s skin. Word had it that Daimyo was dead and she would now rule in his place.

Suspicious, but no one said a word, shaking and watching their shadows as if they thought they would be killed next. Yes, killed because whisper had it the Daimyo was not only dead, he was murdered.

Now, this! Danzo was hauled off battered and bruised, the chains that wrapped around him consuming his chakra the more he fought. Danzo was the war hawk of impressive stories, but he was old.

“Tsunade! The village, the village is in danger!” Danzo screamed at her, foaming at the mouth. His words rang true and a fear and like no other settled in her chest.

She cursed and evaded Jiraiya’s hold as she stormed down the halls and pushed past Samurai guards.

That woman! That woman planned something terrible and Tsunade would not have it! Chakra crackled in the air as she stormed pass another set of guards and with a mighty force flung the chamber doors of the Daimyo’s room open. The doors tore off the hinges, falling with a thunderous crash only matched by the storm outside.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Tsunade roared, ready for a fight and met by Karin surrounded by Samurai and what looked like Iwa and Kumo nins.

“You traitorous, bitch! You are working with the enemy of your land!” Tsunade spat, he anger for once getting the better of her as she readied herself to attack. She could hear Jiraiya running down the halls, trying to stop her, but he would be too la—

“I would think about the fate of your village as we speak, Tsunade-s _ama,_ ” Karin mocked.

“After all, war is at your doorstep as we speak and your people bereft of a leader, a true leader. But not only is that…Sasuke Uchiha on route, what hell will raise on the glorious Konoha Village. A village without fault and corruption,” Karin hissed, red eyes glittering dangerously.

Tsunade was almost petrified with the uncanny resemblance the woman had to Kushina Uzumaki. The woman who faced down the nine-tailed fox along with her husband to save her baby.

“Think of the number of innocent lives that will be lost the longer you waste your time here,” Karin stepped from behind her shield of men and women. She was not afraid of this woman even knowing her powerful she was.

“Why are you helping the enemy?” Tsunade pushed on, fist clenched so tight that her hands bled. Jiraiya finally arrived already slipping into a stance to fight, surprised when Tsunade signalled for him to stand down.

“I’m not,” Karin said simply. Moving across the room to look out wide windows. The Capitol was a sprawling mass, filled with bright shimmering lights and beautiful architecture. Tall twisting towers, oddly shaped buildings, archways and bridges…

“Kumo and Iwa split into factions a long time ago. Those loyal to their Kage’s and those who have sworn fealty to their Capitols. Fortunate for me, I am now an ally of the Capitol these factions have sworn fealty. We share…a common goal” Karin looked over her shoulder, adjusting the glasses as it slid down the bridge of her nose.

An answer and a none-answer. Tsunade did not like it one bit, but what could she doo. She could already feel the adrenaline kicking in. She would have to leave Danzo and the elders behind.

She couldn’t think of them when the very foundation of Konoha was under attack, and yes, she believed they were under attack. Karin for all she was snake was most truthful in this instance.

“Now, run along Tsunade. Maybe if you reach in time some part of Konoha can be saved,” Karin smiled, not a flinch when Tsunade’s golden eyes sharpened and promised to her a terrible end that not many could fathom.

Without a word, The Hokage stormed out, followed closely by the Toad Sanin who gave them a curious look, something like dread settling in his eyes.

* * *

“You didn’t think I would just leave you behind did you?” Kakashi smirked, working to pull open the cell gates, a group of highly trained ninja’s Sasuke had sent aiding him in breaking out Shikamaru.

He had fled the village for but a moment, hoping beyond hope that Sasuke would receive the message in time. That he would send his aid before Shikamaru was put on trial because strangely he had grown fond of the brat.

A kindred spirit where he had none among his own peers, disillusioned with Konoha and her workings.

Said shadow jutsu user only smirked, stepping back as the bars were ripped away.

“And abandon the lover you wished I was, I didn’t think so,” Shikamaru drawled, and enjoying how Kakashi spluttered for a moment. He never expected something like that from the Nara heir of all people.

“Well look who I caught red-handed!” Kakashi and Shikamaru cursed at the loud voice the tiniest bit nervous when they saw Naruto emerging from the shadows and behind him Sakura, Ino, and Choji.

“Naruto, step down. I won’t hesitate to cut you down if I hav—” Kakashi stepped before Shikamaru, passing a Kunai into the shadow users hand. Already signalling him to get ready, as the ninja that Sasuke sent to aid them surrounded them.

“Will you cut it out! We can have your pissing match some other time, right now we have to bust Shikamaru out of here before Tsunade returns!” Ino grouched as she pushed past the bewildered ninja, fretting over Shikamaru before delivering a solid hit to his head.

“You fucking, idiot! Why didn’t you trust us?!” Ino screamed, blue eyes equal parts furious and sad. Choji stepped forward himself, mindful of the foreign ninja that watched them like a hawk, eerily reminding him of Sasuke Uchiha’s gaze.

“Yeah, what she said, Shika! You must know we would have stood by you no matter what!” It had hit him hard when he found out through the grapevine about Shikamaru’s arrest and what he had been accused of.

His friend would be killed for a cause he believed in, a cause he thought he could not share with them, so assured he was of their loyal to Konoha.

The idiot didn’t realize that their loyalty first and foremost would always be with him!

“I—” Shikamaru didn’t know what to say, and honestly he didn’t think there was anything he could say to justify his actions. He shared a look with Kakashi who shrugged his shoulders turning to his own students who watched him with unreadable eyes.

“Naruto, Sakura—” He began but Naruto just shook his head, a bitter expression painted on his face.

“I get it, Kakashi-sensei. With how we were, you couldn’t trust us with this, it was only logical that you wouldn’t—you were there for Sasuke when we weren’t, and honestly, that’s all that matters!” Naruto spoke with resolve, standing tall as he allowed the weight of his decision to fall on his shoulders.

He realized that his actions would be a betrayal to Konoha, and damn he still loved her, his precious village…but some things…they just had to be done.

“Na—Naruto is right,” Sakura finally spoke up, her head bowed as she twisted her gloved hands in her skirt.

“I want to make this right, I don’t…I still think Sasuke is better off here, I really do but—maybe, maybe that’s my own selfish heart speaking,” Sakura whispered, very much aware of the eyes on her.

She looked up to see the approval in Ino’s eye, the woman had matured long before Sakura. It had come to a point that they hadn’t been much f friends the more Sakura lost herself to her obsession.

In this moment, even if she knew their bond would never much be the same, she felt that friendship rekindle.

“Alright, come on, let’s get out of here!” Naruto grinned, spinning on the balls of his feet only to be knocked off balance when a powerful explosion rocked the very foundation under them.

They all stumbled as another explosion sounded followed by another! Dust fell from the roof as it began to splinter and still, explosions sounded.

“What the hel—!” Naruto began only to be cut off when Shikamaru came to a sudden understanding.

“It’s the war. Konoha is under attack!” Shikamaru’s voice was grim and with his revelation, the overhead lights flicker in out before finally plunging them into darkness.

* * *

Chaos that was what this was. Glorious chaos as Konoha went up in flames. The sound of clashing steel echoed and dying screams of her defenders cut down filled the air as rain poured and obscured their sight.

Lighting flashed. Terrifying streaks that painted a horrific picture when white light illuminated blood-soaked roads and the bodies of Konoha citizens. The civilians were not evacuated, so underprepared they were as enemy ninja broke through their walls and hopped over their barriers.

Children screamed and held their mother’s as men grabbed pitchforks and anything they could find to protect themselves!

Still, explosions sounded! Homes blasted to bits, rubble flying the air and striking unsuspecting victims, flattening those who could not evade the now airborne boulders.

Sirens sounded loud, deafeningly so as people fled and Ninja fought above them, young old, elite and veteran.

Naruto and their group tore through the roads cutting down as many enemies as they could, grunting in exhaustion as sweat slicked their skins, feeling too much like oil as it mixed with rainwater.

And then the ever consuming heat as their pulse raced and they fuelled destructive jutsu’s with their chakra that helped destroy their home as much as they wished to protect it!

They could barely see the storm, fighting against the elements as they pushed forward to the gates!

“Shikamaru said there was more than likely another wave at the outskirts of our borders! Sakura and I will—”

“He also said he had a gut feeling Sasuke would be there,” Ino glared. She could not afford for these two to lose focus. Not now of all time!

“I know, the fact remains out of the four of us, we are the fastest! We have to help intercept that next wave!” Naruto all but barked, he didn’t care for the accusations in those fierce blue eyes, was surprised when they softened.

“Ok, Naruto, I trust you know what you’re doing,” Ino gave one final glare before pulling Choji along with her. He watched her long her sway in the wind, how fiercely she cut down her enemies before sparing him a look over her shoulders, a smirk on her lips.

It honestly wasn’t the time for his heart to do a sudden skip.

“Naruto! Come on!” Sakura hissed already heading to the gates, moving as fast as she could.

“Yeah! Right behind you!” Naruto shouted, sparring Ino one last curious look, watching as she was consumed by the crowd of fighting bodies that swarmed around them.

* * *

“Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi!” Sasuke and Itachi yelled in unison, Sharingan blaring as purple fire rained down on the enemy below. They didn’t hesitate to cut through the screaming victims, uncaring of the blood that splattered along their coats as they weaved swiftly through Kumo and Iwa nin.

They had underestimated the number of ninjas they would face and already they could feel the weariness settle in their bodies as they fought wave after wave to get to the Gedo Mazo.

Kisame had been separated from them but they could hear through their panting breaths the hell he was raising. The earth shook with his attacks and bodies flew through the sky as if they belonged there. Strange companions to the rain that pelted their skin.

Sasuke hissed as kunai’s cut through his skin, quickly dodging the strike that would lop his head from his body, digging his sword into the ground and with a great momentum swing his body to take down another nin that would dare stop him.

Bone crushed under his feet, as he launched off, fighting his way to Onoki who watched with cold eyes.

“You won’t stop us, Uchiha! By the time you reach me it will already be over!” The old man shouted, his gruff voice carrying over the battle that waged below him.

Sasuke snarled as another jutsu escaped his lips. The earth opened up and swallowed hundreds of ninjas who did not even know they met their end! His thighs burned as he forced himself to go faster! Just that much faster when he noticed  **A**  moving towards the statue.

The statue his son was in! Blood rushed to his ears, his sight narrowed, single focus as beads of sweat rolled down his neck and his breath came out short.

He didn’t even realize Itachi was to his back, he didn’t realize that Naruto and Sakura had joined the battle along with Tsunade and Jiraiya who fought throw waves of ninja!

He did not care if they called his name if they moved closer and helped cut the enemy out of his way! He didn’t even notice that samurai from the Capitol had entered the scene and surrounded him protecting him as he moved forward blood running like a river down his blade to his arms.

He wasn’t there!

He wasn’t there and no matter how quickly he moved he just could not reach!

_His son!_

“What is the meaning of Tu velim mortem?” A soft voice suddenly echoed in the air, drawing the attention of every man and woman.

 **A**  froze before the Gedo Mazo he would have activated before time, the statue pulsing with life and ready to be animated even if not stable by a second pair of Sharingan eyes!

They looked up to the cliff that overlooked them, a marking of the Valley of the end. A man stood, eagle on his shoulders, a strange flickering spirit in red behind him, his eyes bleeding to black, his hand slowly raised.

Sakura in the distance gasped in horror, heart racing as he looked from the man to Sasuke. Naruto didn’t know who that man was, but there was no mistaking how Sasuke looked at him. How he froze in his pursuit and took in every detail.

Was this Sasuke’s special person?

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, Jiraiya contemplated the sudden change of event and Shikamaru and Kakashi came onto the scene and instantly understood who it could only be.

“Tu velim mortem…” His voice echoed and an unimaginable power swirled around him, lashing out with the screams of the dead and all their fears, made even more ominous with the crash thunder and lightning that illuminated pale form.

“Tu velim mortem…. _for you I wish death, that is the meaning!_ ” He hissed.

Pandemonium!

A black mist sprang from his hand and cloaked the entire battlefield. Pained screams echoed as that strange energy whipped around them and sucked their souls from their bodies.

Sasuke stood in shock for only a moment before he was moving through the mist, heart pounding as his brother followed close behind. For a moment he was blinded and raged! So close! He screamed to himself only for the mist to clear and before him stood Harry with  **A**  dead at his feet.

The Gedo Mazo was destroyed, blown apart and scattered about. When Sasuke looked to the side he realized that Onoki had been pierced through the chest with one the parts. Gasping for breath, blood gurgling in his throat. A simple end to a man who would wage war to rule the Shinobi factions.

“Ha—Harry?” Sasuke whispered, breath leaving his lungs as he slowly approached, uncaring of the carnage behind him.

Startling green eyes locked with is, and for a moment he lost all breath, tears he never expected burning at the brim of his eyes, only to escape down his cheeks when he realized Harry cradled his son against his chest.

His still son…

“Is he—” He whispered, stepping closer that he was but a breath away from Harry, trembling hands brushing along his son’s cold cheek.

“Is he…” another shuddering breath as he collapsed on his knees, hand’s gripping Harry’s legs sobs logged in his throat and tears once crystal salt water now hot blood that burned like acid.

“T—to—Tochan,” A tiny voice that was unimaginably loud to Sasuke’s ear. He didn’t hold back then. He couldn’t. He sobbed. He sobbed pain, in fear, in relief…with hope.

“He’s going to be ok, Sasuke. I’ll make sure of it,” Harry whispered, kneeling to hold Sasuke against his chest as he did the child. He swallowed tightly when Saijun looked up through pain filled eyes, little hands reaching to pat his cheek.

“Chichi-ue,” Harry would weep if he could, but how could he when Sasuke fell apart in his arms. So unlike himself…so raw, so real. How could he dare feel pain when it was not dark eyes that looked up at him, but a milky white?

A terrible milky white.

* * *

The war had settled for now, but in its wake, Konoha was destroyed. The Capitol would soon make their move even if the sun barely rose and birds barely sang.

Sasuke cared not.

He had returned to Gryffindor temple with Harry, Itachi at their backs. Ignored Sakura’s please and nodded at Naruto who smiled thinly at him, hands held stiffly at his side.

Shikamaru and Kakashi shared looks, receiving the unspoken message from Sasuke and in the blink of an eye were gone from the scene.

They were greeted by Hermione who fretted over her brother and surprisingly over Sasuke himself, recoiling in shock when she spotted his child held tight in his arms.

One look and her eyes came alight with unholy knowledge. She looked at his brother, then to Harry and said with conviction that she could fix Saijun’s sight. Maybe not all the way, but enough that he would see…it would only need a sacrifice.

Itachi’s eyes. The man was diseased, but Hermione and Harry assured them it wouldn’t be a problem.

With their magic, anything was possible.

It was then he understood what Haya meant, the woman had oddly found Gryffindor temple herself and watched with veiled hope.

Itachi did not even hesitate he gave up his eyes, and maybe if their shared past wasn’t so heinous he would have felt love for his brother.

No…he did feel love for his brother, it was always there buried deep inside. An emotion he wished to crush under his feet time after time but never able to. Kisame had studied Itachi carefully before simply accepting the older Uchiha’s decision.

“Sasuke—” Harry’s voice pulled him from his thoughts, something wild and untamed stirring in his chest when he took in the vision before him.

Harry glowed in the golden light that signified dawn, Saijun rocked in his arms and releasing tiny breaths, his fist tight in the wizard’s shirt.

“I came after you because I needed closure,” Harry frowned before facing the man that plagued his waking dreams. Even now his heart raced and his breath hitched. He took in every detail. From Sasuke’s strong form and dark hair to his lips that were dusky pink. Harsh lines that spoke of the life of a warrior, large hands that could be just as gentle.

“And did you get closure?” Sasuke’s deep voice rumbled. He stood from his seat and approached Harry. The wizard didn’t know why his heart was racing or why he wanted to step back.

“No, I didn’t,” Harry shuddered as Sasuke tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear.

“Then what do we do now?” Sasuke pushed own, accepting his son when Harry passed the child on.

“Nothing I wager,” Harry muttered, clearing his throat. Stepping back even though his eyes burned with the tears he kept at bay. He thought for a moment before moving forward again, gently pressing his lips against Sasuke’s.

A chaste kiss, a kiss that would spell the end to a new beginning.

“Harry…”

“I love you! I love you, Sasuke Uchiha!” Harry voice trembled but he would not cry. He would not!

“I love you and I know it’s stupid to love so fast but I do! I just wanted you to know that.” Harry whispered before moving past Sasuke. It was time. He had discussed this with Hermione, he had even told Sasuke. He would leave through the veil at the break of dawn. He would leave with the knowledge that even if he won the war in the wizarding world it would no longer be possible to return the Elemental Nations. The veil he created would never be like the original. It was a one-way trip.

Godric Gryffindor was oddly missing.

“Harry…” The wizard stopped for just a moment, heart-breaking when Sasuke’s words settled in his heart. He didn’t look back even when Mother Nature cried and Mother magic sang the saddest of songs.

“I love you, Harry Potter. I love you,”

* * *

**10 years later…**

The tale of crossroads is an odd one, for no one truly knows where a crossroad begins or end if it even had an end. Endless roads a traveller must venture until some grand thing, good or bad comes their way.

It is at the crossroads many find their fate. It is at the crossroads many lose their fate, Harry thought with a wry smile. Car horns honked loudly, almost deafening, with sirens wailing in the distance.

Muggles shuffled about bundled in their coats as they breathe into their frozen hands only to see mist. The sight would make their teeth chatter even more as they bundled together and cast him strange looks for not doing the same. Snow fell and blanketed the world in pure white and with its arrival mayhem ensued.

A woman walked past him, staring into his eyes before giving a hesitant smile, oddly pulling at a blue teardrop earring. One that matched the purple teardrop that hung from Harry’s own ear.

A witch. How things have changed, Harry thought as he copied the motion, the woman granting him a binding smile before scampering off with her leather bag clutched under her arm.

When he had stepped through the veil ten years ago he entered into a world completed destroyed. Ron was there awaiting him and Draco Malfoy who oddly enough hugged him so tight when he stepped through. A shock to them all. What was more shocking was when he pushed past Harry to do the same to Hermione, burying his face in her neck.

Hermione had melted, holding on just as tight. He didn’t know what they were saying but he could see that strange happiness between them. His heart ached.

The remainder of the Order was there as well, relieved to see him. When he noticed Remus missing, no one had to tell him what had happened. Remus had become a victim of war.

He wanted to rage at the world, but it was the time, he had a duty to uphold.

He showed Ron the rune he would carve that could end it all asked him where he thought the largest expanse of space was in Hogwarts. It was McGonagall who answered.

The broken courtyard. With that in mind, he rushed through the corridors, the Order hot on his heels, excitement in the air.

He found the space and immediately he began to carve, the rune glowing a bright gold that seeped in the dead soil as if it had never been carved.

The Order had been confused but he paid them no mind as Mother Nature and Magic sang praises in his ear. With them, at his back, he did something not many knew he could. He projected his mind to the far reaches of wizarding Britain. He spoke loudly and declared that Harry Potter was alive.

That there was still hope!

He challenged Voldemort to meet him in the courtyard if he dared. If he was no fool or coward he would face his adversary!

Fight him and put an end to their long-fought battle that ripped their world apart.

A battle waged only because of a stupid prophecy.

Voldemort answered, screaming that he was a god and no one could challenge him!

Harry sighed as he pulled himself from the memory for a moment staring across a bridge that seemed to go on without end. Mist clouding his site.

The entire wizarding community seemingly came to Hogwarts after that declaration. Their eyes glowing fiercely with renewed hope as a crowd circled Harry but remained clear from the courtyard. They looked through broken windows, some crawled up on the rubble towers that overlooked the courtyard.

They waited to see their deliverance handed to them.

Voldemort did come, his Death Eaters at his back, his robes swishing about him and snake twisted around his shoulders.

He never realized the trap Harry set the moment he stepped into the courtyard.

He challenged the man to a duel. Spells flying, bloodshed and tired breaths as they tried to outmanoeuvre each other. Voldemort thought to use Gryffindor spell against Harry when hours went by without a victor.

It proved a fatal mistake, for a soon as he whispered Tu velim mortem a runic circle erupted under both his and Harry’s feet.

Before them two beings materialized, draped in blinding gold. Magic ran wild and whipped about, tearing the earht apart. Bringing forth quakes that knocked everyone off their feet.

The rune called forth Mother Nature and Mother Magic that would weigh their souls, judge them on scales and drag them to the pits of what muggle would call hell if they were found wanting. If they were worthy…they would live.

Harry screamed in pain, Voldemort screamed louder. The masses watched as the monster’s fractured soul was pulled from his body. Watched as Mother Nature and her sister Magic smiled cruelly at the man, and with demon-like smiles, dragged his soul away.

Voldemort’s body crumbled like dust.

It…was suddenly over. There was hesitance at first until the waves of magic washed over them and every man woman and child felt as the Scourge was lifted.

The celebration was too quick though. Harry watched in horror as the shields that had always separated their world from muggles cracked. Suddenly the dome shield glowed hot white and like glass, it shattered above them.

The wizarding world was exposed.

Harry sighed as he tucked his hands into his pockets, the sounds of the city fading the further he walked along the bridge.

They moved forward after that event. The rebuilt there society, blended in with the muggles, learned new things.

In a sense, it was a blessing for a world left to stagnate for so long. Now a Witches and Wizards wore teardrop earrings holding a part of their world.  Only seen by a fellow wizard or witch.

Harry sighed, stopping in his tracks as he looked down at his gloved hands. He still thought of Sasuke. Not a day went by when the man was not on his mind. He mourned the future he lost…no willingly gave up and stopped his tears if they became brave to reveal themselves.

It hurt.

After all that he had lost so much. His aunt was dead, Remus was dead, Dumbledore even and many more faces that haunted his dreams for the first three years.

Merlin, it hurt. Seeing his friends move on to have families of their own. Hermione and Draco in an odd relationship, Ron marrying a French witch like his brother…

Love only ever—

“Harry?”

Harry froze at the sound of his name. A familiar voice, but it couldn’t be! He looked up and at the end of the bridge, a tall figure stood, dressed in dark clothes a faux fur hood, cloaked in mist. Then suddenly another shorter figure moved to stand beside them.

“Harry?” It was like breathing for the first time being denied oxygen for so long. The mist cleared and Harry’s heart lurched. He didn’t understand it he didn’t but his feet carried him without thought.

He moved slowly before he was sprinting, tears falling down his cheeks and hope soaring like never before.

He collided with that tall form, strong arms circling him ever so tight, a familiar scent filled his senses.

He melted.

“Sasuke,” He whispered, he looked up and stared into deep onyx eyes. Sasuke had changed ever so slightly. At 33 he had grown into his adult body. His features were defined, strong and Harry dare say that the man had gotten taller than he ever was.

“But how—” He stilled as Sasuke smirked, love so free. Harry would still be the same after so many years. Still that wizard

“I told you, Uchiha’s love hard, too fierce—nothing as simple as a different world would keep me away from you knowing that I love you, Harry Potter,”

“You should really listen to To-chan, Chichi-ue!” Harry jumped at the small voice, looking to the side to see an eleven-year-old smiling up at him. Glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Harry wondered how he had coped with his new vision. He would be colour blind from what Hermione had told him.

“Saijun,” Harry answered breathlessly. Snow still fell from the heavens, almost as if in slow motion, melting on their warm cheeks. The sounds of London was muted as he stood in Sasuke's arms, feeling his slow but steady pulse under his skin.

Could this be...peace?

“Let’s go home, Chichi-ue, we’ve been waiting for a long time!” The brat pouted, moving enough where Harry could hug him close.

“You heard the brat, let’s go!” Sasuke smirked. Harry could do nothing but give a tearful smile, heart lighter than it had ever been in 10 years.

He looked over Sasuke’s shoulder to see Godric Gryffindor’s spirit. Watched as his ancestor smiled sadly before vanishing as if he was never there. Never to be heard from again as he submitted to eternal peace. Content with the knowledge that he had done well. That his legacy was secure, that Harry...Harry finally accepted happiness.

If anyone cared to look, they would be shocked to see the couple and child vanish in the mist. Gone like the ghost who had granted an unspoken gift. Mother Nature and Mother Magic would sigh in unison. In peace.

**_“I love you, Sasuke Uchiha,”_ **

**_“And I you, Harry Potter.”_ **

**_THE END ?_ **

_**(please read ending note, you might miss something important otherwise)** _

 

_**[Ending song for that last scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxaT0lG5XSw) ** _

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so after tirelessly working throughout Saturday I've cranked out 21,082 words for this chapter. I just needed to get this out to you all who were ever so patient with me and sent me a kind word on tumblr. Especially seeing that I did not meet the date I had hoped for which would be the end of December.  
> A bonus chapter is planned for this fic Chapter 19 that will touch on a few things I didn't explore for the final chapter. So look out for that, loves.  
> I am exhausted, lacking sleep, but I wanted to say thank you so much for your support. Everyone who ever commented you don't know how much of a motivation you were. I truly appreciate it and love you dearly for it!  
> Happy New Year loves, and remember, BONUS CHAPTER 19 is in the works for this fic even if it has ended. It may scratch an itch or two if you know what I mean *side-eye and innocent grin*


	19. Winter over the rainbow

_“He’s gone, Ron. Harry finally left us,” Hermione smiled sadly, long fingers tracing old notes Harry would write as he sought to educate himself about his family. He hadn’t crossed over empty-handed, she had made sure of that. Recording as much as knowledge as was possible, sealing away scrolls on her person that when they returned to the Wizarding world, Harry would have the legacy of his family on hand._

_She remembered how grateful he had been. How after the years the shield that surrounded the wizarding world crumbled and they had to build them self a world anew, Harry had immersed himself in his family history._

_He had become the strange type of scholar she knew he could always be. A brilliant mind that he so often hid from the masses because a hero who liked to stick his nose in books wasn’t something their world had particularly wanted or cared for. She watched him blossom, gaining a grasp of magic she couldn’t understand, watch as he smiled to the heavens, always tinted with sadness, magic sparking from his fingertips, listening to a song no wizard could hope to hear or understand._

_She told him their magic was different, that Gryffindor’s weren’t wizards and their magic was more a divine power granted to them by a Sage. A divine power that saw them give life to the entity known as Mother Magic who became the sister of the divine being Mother Nature, the Sage's daughter._

_Mother Magic who loved him dearly for keeping her alive, for listening to her songs and granting her power for his devotion._

_None of it made sense to her._

_He grew into himself, a master of Runes. Creating runic circles that controlled the weather, controlled time…tempted the boundaries of life and death like no Wizard could. Not even their famed necromancers and forbidden magic compared._

_She watched in awe as he grew confident in himself, itching to be by his side, saddened that her magic would only allow her so close to him. She like every wizard did not share his connection with such divine entities. For them, magic was a tool. For Harry, magic was his life and a blessing to be left offerings and worshipped._

_A soul._

_She could see how the Gryffindor line had admired muggle religion enough to build runes that imitated devastating events in each religion’ history._

_“It’s to be expected, isn’t it? He…he wasn’t happy here, and I doubt he ever would have been.” Ron muttered, sighing before slumping in a creaking coach before a roaring fireplace._

_Outside snow showed no mercy, continuously falling and hiding what used to be rich lush green from their sites. Even then, he could still hear muggles ambling about outside, equal parts happy and angry about the season._

_“He didn’t even say goodbye,” Hermione whispered, a fraction of hurt in her voice as she sat beside Ron, her old cat, Crookshanks, twining around her leg and flicking its bushy tail. She wiped away her tears before they could fall. It was sad and maybe she had every right to be hurt, but then she remembered how Harry had begun to wither away as soon as he had flourished._

_“You know…he tried passing on his knowledge to some children. They wanted to be his apprentice, but…the magic, the magic as similar as it seems, it’s too different,” Ron muttered, glaring at the crackling flames of the fireplace._

_It was probably another nail in the coffin for Harry when he realized that. The Gryffindor legacy would end with him just as the line would. The few who could use Gryffindor runes like Voldemort and one other proved anomalies that no sooner would be replicated in their present day._

_He knew. He had helped Harry search high and low, from country to country for anyone with the ability to connect with his kind of magic._

_A futile endeavour that bore no fruit other than him finding a lovely French woman that was now his wife. Harry had wished him good health and a happy life at his wedding, standing as his best man, that unshakeable sadness about him._

_He still hated Sasuke Uchiha, but even he had wished the man would suddenly appear and sweep Harry off his feet. Make him smile and laugh like that one time in the Elemental Nations._

_“Sasuke’s son had it. I bet if he stayed in the Elemental Nations he could even find others who…” Hermione trailed off before sighing. She rested her head on Ron’s shoulder after a while, their hands clasped together for comfort._

_“Do you think that’s where he is? Maybe he finally figured out how to make a veil to bring him back. It’s the one thing he never seemed able to grasp with all the knowledge he—”_

_“If he is, that damn piece of shit better find him and treat him right!” Ron grouched, irate with the very thought of the damn Uchiha who left him with the deepest of scars as a memento._

_Fucking, monster._

_“Have you ever seen how Sasuke looks at Harry? Our little clumsy sourpuss would probably have a fit because Sasuke’s taking too much good care of him!” Hermione didn’t even stop the snort that escaped._

_Silence settled between them for a while, Crookshanks purring up a storm and the fireplace crackling._

_“He didn’t say goodbye, Ron,” Hermione whispered. Ron frowned for a second before he looked down at the woman he had once loved, the one that was more of a sister to him at present._

_“Maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe, for him…it wouldn’t be a goodbye. That, or he was kidnapped by muggle aliens and we should really be employing a search party!”_

_“Way to kill the mood, Ron!”_

* * *

The delicate strings of fate are quite easily broken when one truly thinks about it. Or are they? Who was to say that the outcome whatever it may be would not have happened regardless of what previous perceptions would lead one to think.

Who said the fact they now lived wasn’t the fate that had always been? Naruto sighed as he surveyed the remains of his home. The only home he had ever known had gone up in flames that burned for days on end, then weeks, then months. Cursed flames some had whispered as efforts to extinguish the flames proved futile.

The fire would run its course, and those that survived the destruction of Konoha would simply have to move on.  They had no choice, their allies, most of them abandoned them, faced with the birth of a new age. Others, like the sand village, found their hands bound and could not open their gates. Their Daimyo would not allow it and to act otherwise would garner repercussions Garra wasn't willing to face. Naruto had his loyalty but his village and her people would always come before all else. They would have to survive on their own.

Survive, that’s what they did.

Naruto bit his lips as he looked down at the tents erected in the Valley of The End. Watched how their lives had deteriorated to the days of old where plumbing was none existent. They caught water from the rushing waterfall, boiled and stored. They gathered food, preserved and rationed. Made medicine from herbs, depended on each other more than they had ever depended on each other before.

Civilian and Shinobi working side by side, the invisible hierarchy he had never realized when a bright-eyed child, all but non-existent.

“You heard it too right?” Naruto barely hid the smallest of smiles when Ino plopped down beside him.  Her hair was caught in the highest of ponytails. Tight yet unkempt from all the work she had invested in, smears of dirt on her face, clothes ruffled, shoes caked in mud.

Back in their genin days, Naruto would never have believed Ino would allow herself to remain in this state because she would rather work and help her people. He would have thought her shallow and uncaring, which…was untrue.

“Tsunade and the clan heads are to meet with the Daimyo again. Re-open negotiations and the like,” Ino raised an eyebrow when Naruto simply continued to stare at her wide-eyed, mouth slightly open.

“Naruto!” She huffed, though the amusement was clear in blue eyes, shining more than ever when Naruto turned bright red and stammered out nonsense. Quickly looking down with his hand rubbing the back of his head. It was cute, in that dorky helpless type of way and Ino couldn’t help it when her big mouth just let loose her darkest--

“Idiot, you weren’t even listening! Remind me again why I like—” Ino stammered, eyes wide when she caught her slip, eyes flickering to Naruto anxiously, heart hammering.

Naruto himself froze, quickly turning to take Ino in. Watch how it looked like she would spontaneously combust on spot. She was fidgety, clearing her throat insistently before looking away herself. The air was tense, not the oh my gosh I want to kill you type of tense Naruto thought, but tense like…there was so much to say and I’m scared and this might not be the time, type of tense.

They both kept silent, looking down at the remains of their village, both eyes set on Sakura who barked out orders as she took charge of the medicine, Tsunade watching proudly.

Sakura…something changed in her the day Konoha was brought to her knees. Naruto swallowed tightly when he remembered that man. They were sitting in the exact spot he had stood, dark hair snapping like whips in the wind as those beautiful green eyes morphed to black and hell on earth was unleashed. Such power that left goosebumps on his skin and instilled in him a fear like no other. 

Power unexplained, seemingly uncontained at the fingertips of such a slight man, too beautiful to not be someone outwardly rather than a mere civilian.

Even Kyuubi, the fearless Chakra beast had cowered in fear, speaking in riddles about the mothers and the one who spoke their tongue. Naruto had been confused about the whole thing. He remembered how Sakura froze beside him, something odd in the way she stared.

A mixture of anger and fear and maybe hatred. None of it made sense…until it did. Sasuke in all his furry had practically fled to the man’s arms. Fallen before the man on his knees, crumbled in his arms and…they weren’t able to see anything else after that. Sasuke, the friend he had lost along the way was a stranger to him more than ever then as he took in the innocent visage of his child…the one who seemed dead…the one he did not know the fate of.

At the end of the battle, Sasuke had left with that man, a small bundle held to his chest and Itachi at his back…Kisame a strange barrier that denied them access to the party.

Sakura had screamed and shouted Sasuke’s name without avail. Sasuke…he didn’t so much as look back.

“It’s been ten years since that day. There is no progress when there should be, all that’s left is stagnation as ninja villages crumble under the new regime. Shikamaru is right. If Konoha does not lick its wounds and seek amends with the court…” Ino trailed off, her brows creased as she moved to remove the loose lock of hair that threatened to get in her eyes.

Naruto beat her to the punch. Callous fingers tucking the stray lock behind her ear. Ino paused buy did not blush staring seriously into Naruto eyes. He did not blush either for how intimate that one touch was.

They had become close friends over the years nothing like the bond Naruto and Sasuke used to share but close enough, yet unique. Naruto thrived in the air of difference Ino was. Unlike Sakura, she wasn’t wrapped up in the turbulent past that was Sasuke Uchiha and neither did she demand from him like Tsunade, Sakura and so many others did.

A strange breath of fresh air he until now did not know he needed. He swallowed tightly at the thought.

A new beginning.

“Shikamaru tells me Sasuke will be there. Over the span of ten years, that man has built for himself a new power. There are rumours that a year after our defeat he searched tirelessly for something or someone, Itachi at his back every step of the way.” Ino squared her shoulders before ultimately standing, dusting off her clothes. Her break was over and she had promised Choji she would help him find more food stock in the lands nearby.

It would be a three-day trip and she had to prepare. Change her clothes into something more suitable she thought, looking down at her midriff blouse and long skirt, split right up to her thigh.

“You should ask Tsunade to go. Get some closure with Sasuke, learn the workings of the court if…if to lead one day is still your dream. You have a lot of drive and ambition, Naruto, even if you are still childish in many ways. I want to see you succeed.” She smiled then, only genuine emotion clear to see, hand on her hip.

She leaned down to playfully tap Naruto’s cheek, smirking mischievously. Naruto was reminded strangely of a mischievous fox spirit that had nothing to do with Kyuubi or his own playful disposition.

She was beautiful he realized. Not in the skin deep type of way he even if physically she was stunning. Soft blond hair, lighter than his, much lighter, powder blue eyes and sharp cheekbones. Soft dusky pink lip and long lashes. Tall, taller than most of their Kunoichi. She was beautiful but so much more. He couldn’t quite place it and could only grin at her with his sudden realization, watching as she hesitated before shaking her head in dismay.

Ino sensed trouble coming her way from the blond knucklehead. Trouble she welcomed as much as Shikamaru teased when she met him as well as Kakashi in secret in the dead of night

“Naruto, I know that as much as you have grown out of—well no, I won’t debase what you two had by calling it a phase—but, just go with Tsunade. See if he’ll talk to you. Rumour has it that the emo drama queen has mellowed out some,’’ Ino snorted before turning away.

“At 33, we all have mellowed out some,” Naruto only shook his head her retreating form, content to brace back on his hands and stare up at the bright blue sky.

The wind was cool against his skin, and birds lazily rode the currents that would carry everywhere and nowhere at once.

“Closure,” Naruto whispered, eyes straying to Sakura who suddenly looked up at him, gifting him a tiny smile before continuing with her work.

He had the briefest of thoughts that if Tsunade allowed him to accompany her to the Capitol Sakura would demand to come.

He didn’t know how much he liked that idea.

* * *

“Wow!” Naruto whispered in awe, eyes wide as he took in the sights before him. He never knew the Capitol was so, was so—

“Amazing!” Breathless wonder escaped his lips as he swivelled his head this way and that, trying to catch every sight he could. The people that ambled around the Capitol market, selling their wares watched the odd group, curious yet cautious. Most amused as they watch the towering blond act like a young child, hiding giggles behind their hands and blushing when said blond caught the action, giving them the brightest of grins.

Tsunade watched her little brother with fondness in her honey eyes, the heavy weight in heart lifted just a fraction. Naruto was truly a ray of sunlight in the darkest hours. She looked around her where clan heads such as Hizashi Hyuuga walked with their heads held high, yet the unmistaken solemn air about them could not be hidden.

Sakura stared straight ahead, hands twisting as she bit her lips nervously. Not even the grand market before her grabbed her attention. Mind loss elsewhere, and if Tsunade could wager a guess, it had everything to do with Sasuke Uchiha.

She had heard the rumours too. How the man had searched for years for someone or something. Heard whispers of the revival of the Uchiha clan that over ten years had gained many members. That, she knew, couldn’t be true. Sasuke had one son, no other child, Itachi had none. The Uchiha had been whipped out, so how could it be possible for the clan to be so quickly revived that it could  _legally_  be called a clan?

“Sakura, I don’t mean to patronize, you are a grown woman and you have come a far way over these ten years. That being said, Sasuke Uchi—”

“I know what I’m doing, Tsunade-sama, with all due respect. It’s been ten years, ten whole years. My life doesn’t revolve around a man that would never love me,” Sakura sighed before looking down at her feet.

Tsunade frowned before looking away, watching as Naruto ran ahead, already making a nuisance of himself as he pushed his way between market patrons, asking questions a mile a minute. Some patrons glared in annoyance but for the most part, the blonde’s exuberance was welcomed.

Naruto was a child at heart. She never thought she would see that inner child shine through once more.

Not far ahead the gates to the Daimyo’s court loomed, torches crackling and burning as the cold wind blew from the east. The other lands experienced winter, snow would fall from the sky and blanket the land in pure clean white. The land of Fire was vastly different, they would only feel a cold chill akin to spring more than anything.

“Tsunade-sama, look! Kakashi-sensei!” Tsunade froze at Sakura’s startled gasp before anger and dislike settled on her chest. The man seemed so nonchalant, having the audacity the grin at them, that trademark one eye squint full of amusement and recklessness.

She scowled when Naruto without thought ran up to greet the man, looking about him as if searching for someone, else. Sasuke more and likely.

“—is he? He came right?” Tsunade caught the tail end of his question, barely holding back an angry retort when she locked eye with Kakashi.

“Hokage-sama, a surprise seeing you here,” Kakashi drawled, leaning off the wall before sticking his hands his pockets. Much too relaxed when the entire Konoha delegation glared at him with varying levels of hatred.

At the end of the day, even if Konoha did not truly stand for how much their people survived, many saw Kakashi Hatake, just like Shikamaru Nara and Sasuke Uchiha, traitors to the village’s cause.

More than most believed that Konoha’s fall and the new era that did not look upon their village with favour was the fault of the traitorous Uchiha who still lived and prospered. It was his fault and all those who claimed to be his allies that they must now bow their heads before the Daimyo and seek her help. Bend to her will to ensure that their people survived.

Not many believed that Konoha had this fate a long time coming for the rot that had settled at the core of the village hidden in the leaves.

“Hatake, I’m surprised you’re bold enough to show your face. You and Nara turned tail and ran when we were still under attack not only by Iwa and Kumo forces but also the Daimyo’s samurai.” She sounded bitter and accusing. She knew that much and cursed herself for the show of immaturity. Beside her, Shikaku Nara stiffened at the mention of his son. He hadn’t heard a whisper from but he knew for a fact was in contact with Ino and Choji.

Those two kept tight-lipped about the entire situation whenever he questioned them about his son’s whereabouts.

“A surprise if it was actually Konoha I was loyal to,” Kakashi didn’t even try to hide the mockery and contempt as he surveyed the delegation before him. He ignored Naruto’s disappointed gaze and Sakura’s angry glare. His once student hadn't been too pleased with him after his departure, especially with the knowledge that he worked closely with Sasuke, her so-called lost love that never was.

He believed he was right sticking by Sasuke and he would forever believe that. After all, for the first time in his life, he felt free. Rin and Obito did not haunt his dreams. Minato did not smile sadly at him from the spirit world, his father’s suicide because of Konoha’s pressure no longer choked him where he stood.

“The fourth would be ashamed of you,” Hizashi did not hesitate to make his presence known, sneering at ex-Konoha nin. He could not understand why the man would throw away everything for—

“As much as he would be ashamed of you I wager, all of you really,” Kakashi grinned before turning to face Naruto, a hand on his shoulder.

“I can’t guarantee he’ll speak to you, Naruto. There is—Sasuke has changed a lot and you are his past more than anything else at this point,” Kakashi tried to be gentle but he wouldn’t sugar coat the truth.

“If you see him, don’t expect that he will fold to your expectations,” Kakashi had no shame when he looked Sakura’s way. He hoped she understood his unspoken message. He didn’t want to see her hurt or watch her drag herself into a pi she couldn’t climb out of.

He had watched her from afar and he saw how powerful she had become, how driven and intelligent she was. A fire of potential she would waste the more she longed for Sasuke like a child with a schoolyard crush. The more she pretended she wasn’t deluding herself with her feelings.

Sakura scowled and walked past the two, Tsunade and the rest of the delegation rowing before following after the young medic-nin. Shikaku hesitated for a moment, a million questions about his son at the tip of his tongue. His dark eyes glowed with guilt, shame and pain. With a quivering lip, he squared his shoulders and resisted the temptation to ask about Shikamaru. He heard his son was doing well for himself, an integral part of the Uchiha's council.

“Naruto—”

“I know, Kakashi-sensei, and for what it’s worth, I don’t think dad would have been ashamed of you,” Naruto smiled, patting Kakashi on the shoulder before following after the delegation.

* * *

“So you won’t join my court, neither will you pledge allegiance to it?” Karin frowned, nails biting into her palms as she studied the Uchiha.

Sasuke Uchiha stood tall, back turned to her, broad shoulders relaxed as if he had nothing to fear as he stared down at the city, hand folded behind his back. The Uchiha insignia glared at her, a reminder of what was quickly slipping out for her control.

“You’re not an idiot, Karin, you should have expected this,” Sasuke drawled, uncaring how the Samurai who stood guard stiffened at his address of the Daimyo.

Karin held her hand up to placate them, straighten her glasses before scowling.

“There is so much to gain if you pledge your allegiance, Sasuke! Political power—”

“Which I already have—” Sasuke interrupted but Karin steamrolled over him.

“Trade deals, open access to the international markets! Alliances, military backing—”

“Karin—”

“You’ve done the unimaginable, Sasuke! You rebuilt the Uchiha-clan. You searched high and low for years holding onto a flimsy rumour that Uchiha’s were still out there. You found them! Abandoned children who knew nothing about their line, children whose fathers and mothers left them and never returned because they were killed in the massacre. Young men and women, runaways, mistakes…you found them and took them all under your wing!” Sasuke kept his mouth shut and allow the woman the chance to be lost in her impassioned speech, glaring daggers at him for refusing her offer.

Unable to comprehend why he would refuse her!

“So now you have your clan why won’t you assure their safety?! Why won’t you give them a home?!” Karin all but shouted, losing her composure as her chest heaved with unrestrained emotion.

Sasuke said nothing at first, staring at the woman with cold eyes that none seemed to be able to read, none except one he thought as flashes of fiery green eyes took over his thoughts for a moment. If this situation was not as serious as it was, he might have yielded to the temptation of smirking and thinking about every single way he could irritate the wizard when he returned to him that night.

He could imagine Harry waiting for him at the top of temple steps, hands folded across his chest, lips grim as they ever were.

“My dream was to avenge my clan and rebuild it. I won’t deny your help in my vengeance. You gave me Danzo when you could have killed him yourself. You put the blade in my hand and I took off his neck. No regret no shame.” Sasuke turned away from Karin to stare out at the city once more.

“You helped me destroy Konoha but that wasn’t only for my gain, was it? You had a vision fuelled by my own dream and in your ambition, my dream bore you good fruit. Now the Capitols reign supreme, the ninja factions under their control and new order and politics have been born across nations,”

“We make a good team. You were able to influence an entire nation through me and through others. That is why I cannot understand your refusal! Bring the Uchiha to the Capitol!” Karin almost hissed, moving to stand beside Sasuke, her nails digging into his arm.

She would deny how much she flinched when he looked down at her touch before cold eyes bore into her. Without a word, she let go.

“I heard your lover has returned to you. He’s safe, getting along with your son, that he has a unique power that he will pass on to the students you and that woman, Haya was it, found for him?” Karin swallowed tight, she realized that bringing up that man could shatter everything if she made one wrong step. The Uchiha just as he was protective of his son, was highly protective of this man that she didn’t even know his name.

Possessive and secretive and willing to cut down any that could possibly pose a threat to the one he loved.

She made the mistake once to send free-lance ninja after this man, just to scout him out. See how much of a weakness he was for Sasuke. She might be Sasuke’s friend but she was still of a political mind.

The ninjas were returned to her, dead.

“A life in the Capitol would do him—” She stopped when Sasuke scoffed, clearly amused by her new approach.

“He would skin me alive, piss on my grave and have no guilt. Even convince my son to help him and Saijun the little traitor will go without a word, puppy eyes and tail wagging after his precious Chichi-ue.”

“Kari—Daimyo-sama, the Konoha delegation has arrived!” It was Suigetsu who interrupted the two, poking his head around the ajar door. Fully stepping into the room when met with no disapproval and sparing Sasuke a warning look before all eyes were for his exalted Daimyo.

“Kar—” That slip again, Sasuke realized, amused when Karin flushed beside him, glaring daggers at Suigetsu who showed no ounce of shame.

“You ask why I refuse, Karin. I will tell you this. The Uchiha already have a home, we have our trade and access to the international market by our own merit. The Uchiha once a clan has become an independent nation with allies that support and surround us. We owe you nothing because unlike Konoha, unlike other Ninja factions it is not Capitol borrowed lands that we inhabit. It is our own and you or any other Daimyo has to claim to it,” Sasuke smirked before walking away, giving a mocking bow as he passed Suigetsu.

“You are of a great political mind, Karin, but know this, the Uchiha will not be subjugated by anyone ever again. I’ve answered my ancestor’s pleas, fulfilled Madara Uchiha’s wish, a wish that was my late mother’s and father’s and soon became my own. The Uchiha are free and anyone who threatens that freedom, friend or foe…well, need I say more?” Sasuke’s voice was heavy with intent. Silky smooth and deep, carrying the underlining darkness and a justifiable cruelness he was forever capable of.

Karin had power and many resources, but Sasuke…knowing him, he more and likely had much more than he would ever reveal.

Karin wondered how his lover could kiss him at night knowing how his hands were stained with blood and not fear that if he made one wrong move his blood would join the others.

* * *

It was just by chance really, Naruto didn’t expect it. He was walking down the halls of the Daimyo’s palace, studying the unique art painted on the walls. Fascinated by the history in every woven thread on pretty tapestries when suddenly he looked up and Sasuke was there, standing at the end of the hall.

Suddenly the tension was high, Naruto’s throat was tight and his palms became sweaty and clammy. Kyuubi stirred inside him unsettled but did nothing more than that when Sasuke who must have stopped upon seeing Naruto continued down the hall.

His footsteps echoed and the closer they came the more Naruto’s heart thundered.  Soon Sasuke was standing beside him, both facing opposite directions.

“Sa—Sasuke,” It shouldn’t have been like this Naruto thought. He was supposed to be filled with every word that he wanted to say to the Uchiha, he was supposed to be able to look into his eyes and not feel oncoming nerves. He was supposed to say that he understood Sasuke and he would continue to be his friend no matter what.

“Naruto,” A simple response as Sasuke spared him a cold look. Not unfriendly, just…cold. The emotionless baritone did not help either. Smooth and silky yet... Naruto steadied himself and without fear faced Sasuke, shoulders squared.

“I’m still your friend, Sasuke. I always will be your friend because, despite everything, I will always love. I—I lost my way somewhere along the way of chasing you and demanding you yield to Konoha when that wasn’t even important but—” Naruto’s eyes shun bright, strong as steel and unwavering

“I’m still your friend and if you ever need anything—no, no that’s not it. What I meant to say is that I am sorry Sasuke. I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart,” Naruto sighed. Sasuke remained silent before continuing to walk ahead, footsteps echoing. For a moment Naruto felt his heart plummet to the bottom of his stomach and his eyes clouded with stinging tears. The world around him crumbled until that deep voice suddenly, spoke. Softened, a touch of genuine emotion lacing each word-

“Good luck, Naruto,” Simple words that brought tears to Naruto’s eyes. Happy, sad he didn’t know, but somehow the weight he never knew he carried lifted off his shoulders in that moment.

* * *

“Is that for him?” If Sasuke was anyone else he would sigh for all the interruption in his life the moment Konoha’s delegation entered Konoha. Kakashi the fiend dared to laugh at his plight giving him a one eyes smile before poofing out of existence. A mocking good luck whispered as the ex-konoha nin went off to annoy unsuspecting civillians more than likely. Sasuke ran his hand over the soft green silk he would purchase for Harry, knowing how much the man would grouch for his constant gifts but grudgingly admit that he liked them, flush bright on his pale cheeks.

“Haruno, how may I help you?” The Uchiha drawled, fingers tracing along other silks some with elaborate patterns, one quite gaudy in looks with multiple prints. That one, he would definitely get that eyesore for Harry and watch the little wizard twitch in irritation before none too gently snatching the material from his gift. Of course. later when he was forgiven and Harry wouldn’t threaten to bite his head off, he would give him the green silk and the set of chalks he used to teach his many apprentices. Oh and the herbs he used for his rituals, and that book he had eyes set on but didn’t bother to take up that one time they had visited a neighbouring village…

The Uchiha didn’t even realize that he was smiling, the expression gaining a surprised gasp from the merchant who looked in wonder, a surprise matched by Sakura who actually took a step back.

“Love, you’re really in love,” Sakura’s voice trembled, her hand pressed to her mouth. Sasuke ignored her for the most part as he made his purchases, the merchant delighted by the many goods he was relieved of and more than happy to wrap the silks in pretty silver paper.

When he was done, Sasuke finally turned to face Sakura, multiple bags hanging from his hands. She didn’t know how he could still seem so intimidating dressed in his black shirt and pants, a cloak with high collar fluttering around his legs and obnoxious pink and green bags hanging from his hands.

“Sa-Sasuke, I—” Her eyes watered when Sasuke pinned her with an unamused look before he simply moved past the woman, offering her cold advice. That bridge in his life was more than burnt. Sakura was a talented woman who proved herself and would continue to prove herself but she would never be a chapter in his life. He was at a point where he was healing. The hurt from his past would not fade but it was manageable, thanks in part to that beautiful gem that stole his heart. Harry with his gentle touch and sarcastic quips. The brilliant mind that got along well with Shikamaru and even his brother. The one his son loved as much as him and Haya, his dearest friend adored.

“Go home, Sakura.”

* * *

 “Chichi-ue, what about this one! If I draw it this way instead of that wouldn’t I get more power out of it?” Saijun pouted, glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose as he poured over the runic circle he had drawn. The lines weren’t as clean as Harry’s. Honestly, they were more squiggly than anything but the fact that this was his first rune circle filled him with so much joy!

“Yes, you would summon more power but then the entire structure of your circle would become unstable. Magic that is unstable is nothing to trifle with Saijun,” Harry spoke with patience, poking Saijun’s cheek in reprimand. The brat, of course, huffed, gaining an amused laugh from Itachi who listened to them from under the nearby tree. Shikamaru along with Haya watched the three, soft smiles in place before they made their way to the courtyard. There was much to do still.

Itachi's eyes were covered with a deep red cloth, the Uchiha crest sewn at the end, in gold thread. Harry’s own handy work. He shifted in place listening to Harry's soft accented lecture, something light in his heart as he could clearly hear the love wizard had for his nephew.

Much to Sasuke’s delight, because anything he could use to get a rise out of Harry he would use, Harry had taken to needlework to calm his nerves. His own form of meditation where hours remaining still like Sasuke or his brother proved futile. He would simply fall asleep or his mind would wonder.

Unlike the west, where the land of fire resided, the east bore witness to the fall of snow that froze the land and left them scrambling for warmth. There, in Gryffindor temple, it was no different. Yet those who occupied the sacred grounds were up and about as if it were summer. There was new life in the ancient temple. Torches blazed high and flags swayed in the wind, dancing to the tunes of the forest that surrounded them.

 The halls were filled with rushing footsteps and Haya's shouts for people to be careful. Shikamaru's voice was low but echoed somewhat, as he spoke to the young children who admired him and which to follow in his footsteps. The lazy Ninja much to his dismay had garnered students who would not leave him be.

"Damn troublesome," His frustrated sigh would sound, Haya laughing at his plight.

Harry could hear young Uchiha’s being trained in the courtyard, their chants of Kiai! Ha! Kiai! Ha, echoing down the many halls of the temple. Harry tutted when Saijun shivered, pulling his wool coat closer, eyeing Itachi who did the same and sensing Harry’s gaze giving a sheepish smile.

Harry was not amused.

“Alright, it’s time we go inside!” Harry declared. He had sent off his apprentices earlier. They hadn't been happy, whining at the unfairness of it all, but Harry would have none of it! Saijun of courses had insisted that he get more time with his Chichi-ue and Itachi, Itachi was just always tagging along.

Harry was honestly surprised when he returned to the Elemental Nations how much had changed. Sasuke had brought an entire clan from the dead and they were searching for a home.  Gryffindor temple became that home and again the ancient temple sang with Mother Nature's and Mother Magics song. They loved and cherished the new life that flourished. Sasuke had settled things with his brother, and though there will always be a tension between them and Itachi would be punished by being forced to live instead of dying like he always wanted…they were ok.

Ok, so Sasuke still got into arguments with Itachi, they still traded blows and more often than not Itachi tried to off himself as the Uchiha was reborn and he was forced to watch the clan he had destroyed flourish once more…guilt was a terrible thing that influenced behaviour.

But, those days were slowly fading. A normalcy and peace had settled and reigned anew.

“Really, Harry-chan, I don’t—” Itachi protested, sighing when Harry hauled him up. He could practically feel the glare aimed at his skull seen as Harry fretted about, tucking his jacket closer to his neck. Saijun the little brat was howling with laughter only to pale when Harry glared his way.

“You too, Saijun! I won’t have you whining like your father when you catch the most devastating of colds and obviously can’t do anything for yourself as a result!” The sarcasm was heavy and both Saijun and Itachi snickered at the thought of Sasuke whining just to get on Harry’s nerve only for the wizard to give in and cuddle up against the pouty clan leader.

“Chichi-ue, uncle Kisame says if you just work out your sexual frustration with Tou-san you won’t be so grumpy all the time!” The brat didn’t stick around for Harry’s outraged shout, racing off with peels of laughter that bounced off the temple walls.

Itachi chose to remain silent, not wanting to invite Harry’s wrath. A wise decision when Harry glared in the direction Kisame would be training his batch of students.

“I’m going to murder your shark bait boyfriend, Itachi, and you  _will_ help be discard of the body!” Harry hissed, magic sparking at the tips of his fingers.

“Of course, Harry-chan, whatever you say Harry-chan,” Itachi paled, wondering how in god’s name Sasuke kept up with Harry and hadn’t been killed, his body buried under some pitiful flowers, yet.

Of course, Harry didn’t stay angry for too long, especially when Saijun came running into his arms, hugging the life out of his Chichi-ue and running off with Itachi in hand.

Harry could only smile softly. He had wondered how Saijun could have known him after he had gone for ten years. The answer was simple. Sasuke. Sasuke had told his son about him. Whispered stories at night about the green eyes beauty he loved. Harry did not blush when he heard that, he did not!

Haya had a ball regaling Harry with the tails, and then she revealed Saijun’s sight. His gift, the boy had seen Harry in many futures. Even without his father’s influence he would have known Harry and loved him dearly. Loved him because to his mind Harry was the little Tou-san, Chichi-ue, while Sasuke was the big Tou-san.

Harry sighed before his ear caught the tell-tale sound if young Uchiha’s welcoming their clan leader home.

His heart raced when he thought about what he had in store that night. It had been a long time now since he had…well, they hadn’t been in a rush to get intimate again. Content to relearn each other and fall in love deeper than ever. Sex wasn’t a factor.

Well, that was until Harry woke with Sasuke pressed to his back, hot and ready. Or when he would dream such lucid dreams where his skin flushed red and he found himself breathless with want…

Harry swallowed tightly at the sudden rise of tension, shifting in spot when he watched Sasuke climb those steps, hair covered in snow, that familiar smirk on his face and brightly coloured bags in his hands.

“What, no welcome home kiss? You wound me, Baby—”

“Don’t you dare say it!” Harry glared, eye twitching when Sasuke’s smirk widened, holding up the brightly coloured bags in a peace offering.

Harry huffed before ultimately sighing, uncrossing his hands before walking up to the most infuriating man he had ever known.

“Welcome home, you bastard,” Harry whispered tipping up on his toes as whispered his greeting in Sasuke’s ear. Harry didn’t miss how Sasuke shivered at his slight touch. He might have made his touch linger more than necessary, fingers tracing delicate designs on Sasuke’s pale neck. The Uchiha dropped the bags, arms circling Harry’s waist before slowly his hands teased at the swell of Harry’s ass. Digging into the soft yet firm flesh covered by thick cotton pants.

Sasuke remembered exactly how that naked flesh had felt even ten years past.  He swallowed, willing his heart to stop racing and willing himself to remain in control even if he wanted to take Harry right then and there. Just push the cotton pants down enough where he could get access, pull those tiny briefs Harry wore to the side and just…

“We should get inside, Sasuke. It’s bloody cold out here,” Harry whispered slowly extracting himself from Sasuke’s hold, an impish smile on sweet red lips.

Sasuke could do nothing but nod dumbly for once.

* * *

Maybe it was the air, warm with the crackling flames that danced along grey ashes in the hearth. It could be the wind that whistled and sang, taping at the bedroom windows curiously, the glass frosting over.

It could even be the sweet smell of spices and fragrances from the attached bath or the knowledge that behind those doors, Harry stood naked, warm water caressing every curve of lithe muscles and the elegant dip of his back that lead to—

It could be a lot of things, but honestly, for once in his life Sasuke felt impatient and wild. He sat where Harry had demanded he sit. On the edge of his bed, his bare feet tapping against heated wood courtesy of the runes Harry carved in their room.

He fidgeted in spot, chest tight, groin even tighter in anticipation of what he’d deny himself for so long even after Harry’s return. He pulled the first few buttons of his shirt open, releasing his held breath, dark eyes unmoving from the ajar door that teased him with soft golden light.

He could just get up. He could eventer the bathroom, stop Harry with whatever he was doing. Pin him against the wall, slot his thigh between shapely legs—

“Sasuke,” Sasuke would deny that he jumped, as much as he would deny that his heart skipped a beat when Harry stood before that door, draped in that black silk robe he had gifted him. The silk that only went mid-thigh, revealed all that sinful flesh, long shapely legs.

Harry looked like a vixen on the hunt for prey, that not so innocent smile on his lips, the curl of his chaotic raven hair against his neck, passing a collarbone to vanish in the crease of his robe where Sasuke knew perky nipples begged for his attention.

“Cat got your tongue?” Harry drawled, slinking across the room, to slowly slip into Sasuke’s lap, full ass pressed against Sasuke’s staining length. Sasuke had it in him to whimper, he would have, if he was so easy to break.

“No more than usual,” A devilish smirk as gripped Harry’s ample flesh, pulled him flush against him, no shame when he guided those hips to roll against him. Build the friction, enhance the torture when Harry gave the tiniest of breathless moans, the devil’s work in his eyes. Or was it the seduction of an untouchable angel.

Harry bit supple lips as he leaned back, thin fingers trailing down the exposed skin of Sasuke’s neck, breath hitching when Sasuke shuddered beneath him, grip digging into his ass just as much as his pulsing arousal.

It was terribly hot in the room, or maybe it was just them as Sasuke locked gaze with him and with delicate precision Harry slowly pulled the Uchiha’s shirt from his chest.

“How long did you wait” Harry whispered, hand sliding down defined abs, soft skin dragging along trained muscles that trembled at his touch, to linger at Sasuke’s belt, teasing as he stared into onyx eyes. He was in control for now and he knew it. A thought that made the tight heat between his ass cheeks throb with want. Ready to take that tempting thick length inside him have it—

“Ten years. Too long. Right now,” Sasuke rasped and wasn’t that enough to spill forth all the dark desires that clawed inside him. Will him to end this game, end this torture and just take this man. Own him, like he owned him that first night!

Harry gasped, belly tense, heart racing and chest tight when he looked into Sasuke’s eyes and saw the monster that lurked underneath. The one that would ruin him and have him beg for more even if it hurt and he couldn’t take anymore. The promise that he would be ripped apart and that he would love it if he didn’t maintain control.

Sasuke saw him waver and that wicked smirk became something akin to a wolf who had sniffed out weakness and would take advantage of it. Without shame, he guided Harry’s delicate hand, pushed his fingers underneath the crease of his pants and pressed them against his length. Gasped when Harry took control and stroked the heavy weight that burnt hot to touch and left him breathless even though it wasn’t inside him.

Not yet, not now. But soon

He hungered, swallowed tight, wanting to know what it tasted like. Would it be sweet against this tongue? Would be a strong taste, strong like how Sasuke was as his thighs rippled under him, and the man’s chest heaved with an effort that shouldn’t be…not yet.

Harry unconsciously licked his lips, green eyes flickering to Sasuke before he slinked of Sasuke’s lap, pushed between his thighs, and pulled that belt free.

With tense breath and the flame loud behind them, crackling and accusing, Harry slowly pulled that zip down. Breath stopping when he was faced with that large sight, hands trembling for only a second as that heavy flesh, thick and wanting was pulled from its confine.

Above him, Harry swore Sasuke’s breath hitched, not that he cared, as hovered hot breath ghosting along wanting flesh.

“Ha—Harry,” So his breath did hitch then Harry thought, grinning as he tentatively licked that hot skin.  Moaning softly before he gave another, driven wild when he felt the tell-tale shift of Sasuke’s hips.

This must be torture.

Salty.

Strong fingers buried in his hair, Harry paid them no mind, looking up only once, daring Sasuke to take the lead before soft pouty lips slid down that throbbing length. Sasuke did jump then, grip tightening as willed himself to keep quiet. A battle he couldn’t win when that wet mouth sucked, becoming unimaginably tight as Harry bobbed up and down.

Slow and steady. Not going faster even when Sasuke insisted. A wicked tongue teasing at his slit, the sound so obscene and slick when Harry took him to the root.

 _“Fuck!”_ Sasuke hissed. It took all that he had to not pull Harry away as he thrust forward, hands griping silky hair, wishing he was buried somewhere else as he wrung every single moan out of Harry’s lithe body.

Make him beg like he was forcing him to! Take control like Harry took control!

Damn torture and the vixen was loving every second of it, back arched and robe parted to reveal dusky nipples tender to touch, swollen from arousal.

How he wanted to wreck the damn temptress and he would! Harry moaned in protest when he was hauled to his feet as Sasuke none too gently flung him on the bed, already prowling over the predator turned prey.

Robe ribbed open so that he lay upon the bed as if an offering to a god as Sasuke settled between his thighs, Thick length, wet, pressed against his own. Merciless as he rolled his hips and grind against his captive, revealing in the high pitch moans that escaped that lithe body.

Capturing swollen lips with his own, savagely stealing Harry’s breath away as he sucked on that wicked tongue. Waging war that neither cared to win!

Harry wasn’t submissive, arms wrapped around Sasuke’s back digging into rippling muscles, high pitched keens when he felt Sasuke’s length slip between his cheeks, brush against his wet hole where had spent hours preparing to take that thick girth.

He clenched, long legs wrapped around a powerful waist, thrusting his hips to ketch the tip of Sasuke’s length against his sensitive to touch hole. Cursing when it prodded and pushed but never breached and Sasuke sucked languid kisses against his neck, hot breaths that left him wanting!

“Come on! Yo—you said you waited lo—long enough!” Harry gasped, breathless when Sasuke in all his wicked glory sealed his hot lips against a sensitive nipple, laving the small tightening bud with his tongue, sucking until the dusky pink was angry red and throbbing as much as slick heat that wanted nothing more than Sasuke to stop teasing.

Push in! Force him open, stretch him wide, as wide as he could go with the heavy weight of his length pushing within. Scorching, leaving him too full.

 _Take him_!

With a wet pop, Sasuke looked up lips just as red, shine where he sucked and tortured Harry before allowing his hot breath to ghost over abused nipples.

“What, not willing to wait, like you made me wait?” Harry didn’t even get to reply, arching off the bed when that thick length finally pushed against his throbbing walls. Stretching him, wide, stroking that fire that burned inside him. Ignited the wild throws of passion he was more than willing to lose himself in as he dug his nails into strong muscles.

Clenched and tightened around Sasuke so much that it must hurt! The answer, given when a strong hand clamped around his waist. When shuddering curses escaped Sasuke’s lips and he could barely move unless Harry allowed him to.

Revenge, Harry thought, even as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and Sasuke thrust forward. Unbidden pleasure like a sonnet from ravaged lips, loud and off-key as his heart raced to a beat so familiar so grand.

His toes curled in pleasure, Sasuke moved like a man denied water far too long, wet skin slapping against wet skin. The sting ever so good that water came to their eyes and Sasuke all but roared as he moved to ruin Harry. Mark him as his as much as he belonged to the wizard.

“Ha—Harry please,” It was Sasuke who was begging, it was his thrust that stuttered, it was his grip that was too tight, even if Harry screamed to the heavens.

He writhed under his lover, muscles pulled thought as the waves of release threatened to overflow but kept at bay by his resolve. He was plundered, Sasuke crowded him against the too soft sheets, thrust fast, thrust searching as he bit into Harry’s shoulders, the wizarding doing the same as his sweat-slick body arched yet again and his mind blanked for the overload of sensation that would bring him to the brink.

He held on for dear life as his legs slipped from Sasuke’s waist, as his thighs were pushed farther apart than they ever were, as Sasuke took and took and gave just as much.

He burned all over. He was on fire! They were on fire!

Two predators defeated by their own ambition and drive as the sweet tendrils of temptation pulled them under! Coils tightened.  Harry screamed, straining as he locked up. Seizing as he was plunged into the abyss, drowned and given breath in but a second. Died and came to life in the next as Sasuke tightened above him, roared his completing, brought him to the brink of destruction as he locked him in place.

Filled him. It was so wet, so hot. He was burning.

Forced him to take all that he was as he lost himself, eyes wet, back slick, thighs burning as much as his throbbing length.

Heaving breaths, both of them, as they calmed down from their high, bodies thrumming in satisfaction even hurt from head to toe. They looked into each other’s eyes and couldn’t help incredulous laughter for the wild ride neither of them expected.

So much for control.

Sasuke rolled off Harry, fighting for breath, Harry doing the same, both of them staring up at the ceiling of their room and wondering what in the hell just happened.

“Wow,” Harry whispered not an ounce of shame as he tenderly rolled over to tuck himself into Sasuke’s side. Humming in contentment as their bodies cooled and Sasuke wrapped his arm around his waist, carding his hand through Harry’s tangled hair.

“More than wow,” Sasuke whispered. He couldn’t his limbs, He couldn’t and the vixen tucked into his side was at fault. Silence settled between them and already Harry was dozing off, only to wake when Sasuke suddenly spoke in a hushed voice.

“There’s a whole tradition about it. Gifts, ceremonies and meeting the family but…Harry…” Sasuke looked down at said man, smiling slightly at the confusion in bright green eyes.

“Will you marry me?”

“What?” Harry gasped, scrambling up, pulling the sheets to his chest as he stared down at Sasuke who only smiled wider.

“Will. You. Marry. Me, Harry Potter?” Harry didn’t know what it was. Maybe he was tired but his eyes watered and everything was spinning. Sasuke sat up, grasping Harry chin, eyes trained on his trembling lips before capturing them in one lingering sweet kiss.

“Will you?” He whispered and Harry crumbled, nodding his head as he leaned in for another kiss, voice small and shaking. Lips tingling from chaste kisses that left him breathless. His senses filled with Sasuke's scent, he was wrapped up in the man's warmth, pressed against his naked skin. 

“Yes... I will”

_And so the story truly comes to an end. Not like old Hollywood muggle films with beautiful sunsets and too happy smiles. Not, it ended with winter at their windows, ugly tears and desperate kisses that lingered on for eternity as the crossroads vanished out of sight._

_No…these two won’t run off into the sunset, but this…this was damn well close enough._


End file.
